INDIANA, Pa. (Jan. 28) – The California (PA) men's basketball team rallied from a 16-point deficit in the second half to capture an 84-77 victory at IUP in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Wednesday night.
NOTES
• The Vulcans (14-5, 11-1) have won four of the last five meetings against the Crimson Hawks, which previously mounted a 21-game winning streak in the series.
• Redshirt junior
Bryson Lucas scored a team-high 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
• He also tallied nine rebounds, four assists, one block and five steals in the victory.
• Redshirt sophomore
Antoine Arnett posted 18 points and six rebounds, while sophomore
Keondre DeShields added 14 points, five rebounds and two steals off the bench.
• Senior
Brayden Reynolds finished with 11 points, four rebounds and four assists and junior
Dalman Alexander registered nine points, six rebounds and two blocks.
• The Vulcans opened the game on a 14-5 run before the Crimson Hawks countered with a 16-4 rally to take a 26-20 lead with 6:43 left in the first half.
• IUP later closed the half on a 12-4 run to extend its lead to a 42-29 margin at the break.
• The Crimson Hawks stretched the lead to as many as 16 points, 53-37, with 15:19 left to play.
• Cal responded with a 23-7 rally to tie the score at 60-60 at the 8:43-mark behind a combined 17 points from DeShields and Lucas.
• The Vulcans posted the final lead change of the game with 4:06 remaining and held a 78-74 lead entering the final minute of play before the teams traded free-throws down the stretch.
• Cal posted a .492 field-goal percentage (32-of-65) after making a 65.5 clip (19-of-29) in the second half.
• The Crimson Hawks held a 44-37 rebounding advantage and both teams scored 32 points in the paint.
NEXT
• Cal finishes the opening round of PSAC West play on Saturday, Jan. 31, when it hosts Pitt-Johnstown at 3 p.m.
• The Vulcans will recognize their PSAC 75th Anniversary honorees on Saturday.
• Cal remains tied for first place in the PSAC West standings with Gannon and now holds a two-game lead over third-place IUP.
