JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (Feb. 18) – In a meeting of two of the top shooting teams in the country, the Vulcans earned an 84-80 victory at Pitt-Johnstown in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action on Wednesday night.
NOTES
• California (18-6, 15-2) swept the season series with UPJ for only the second time since the Mountain Cats joined the league in the 2013-14 campaign.
• UPJ entered the week ranked fourth in NCAA Division II, and first in the PSAC, with a .513 field-goal percentage.
• The Vulcans were slotted second in the league and eighth in the country with a .509 clip.
• Redshirt junior
Bryson Lucas registered his sixth double-double in the last 10 games, leading all players with 22 points and 14 rebounds.
• He also collected five assists sand two steals while playing 37 minutes.
• Redshirt sophomore
Antoine Arnett finished with 18 points on 8-of-11 shotting and six rebounds.
• Sophomore
Keondre DeShields added 17 points and four rebounds off the bench, while junior
Dalman Alexander totaled seven points, seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
• The Vulcans used a 14-2 run, behind nine points by Arnett, to build a 16-6 lead with 13:07 left in the first half.
• UPJ later held Cal without a field goal for over three minutes and tied the score at 35-35 before the Vulcans took a 43-38 lead at the break.
• The Mountain Cats mounted a 13-4 rally early in the second half to claim a 53-51 lead with 13:54 remaining.
• Cal reclaimed the lead for the final time with 10:37 left to play and never led by more than two possessions before scoring nine-unanswered points to take an 80-70 lead at the 1:02-mark.
• The Vulcans finished the game shooting 45.1 percent (32-of-71) from the field and converted 17-of-21 (81.0 percent) from the free-throw line.
• UPJ posted a .447 field-goal percentage (34-of-76) while going 8-of-22 (36.4 percent) from long range.
• Cal finished with a 43-40 rebounding advantage and scored 18 fastbreak points.
NEXT
• The Vulcans play their final road game of the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 21, when they face Edinboro at 3 p.m.
• Cal remains in second place in the PSAC West standings, one game out of the first place and one game ahead of third place, with three games left in the regular season.
