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Box Score
ERIE (Jan. 13) – The California University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team suffered a 59-47 loss to Gannon on Wednesday night at the Hammermill Center in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West-opener for both teams.
With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 12-4 overall this year and 6-2 on the road. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights improve to 6-7 this season after winning both the PSAC and NCAA Atlantic Regional Championships in 2008-09.
Sophomore forward
Kelsey Williams (Sandusky, Ohio/Sandusky) scored a game-high 17 points after making 8-of-10 attempts from the floor. The Ohio native also posted four rebounds and one steal against the Golden Knights. Kelsey Williams has scored in double figures in each of the last five games and leads the team in scoring at 12.1 points per game this season.
Classmate
Travon Vann (Frederick, Md./St. John's Catholic Prep) added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. He added two assists and three steals in 34 minutes. Junior guard
Joe Berenato (Pittsburgh, Pa./Central Catholic) finished with eight points off the bench, while fellow guard
Travis Williams (Raleigh, N.C./Word of God Christian Academy) recorded five assists.
After the Golden Knights opened the game on a 5-0 run, the Vulcans scored six-straight points to claim an early 6-5 lead on a lay-up by Kelsey Williams with 17:30 left before halftime. Gannon scored on the next possession and would maintain the lead for the remainder of the first half. The Golden Knights led by as many as nine points, 19-10, in the opening half before the Vulcans mounted a 7-0 rally capped with a fastbreak lay-up by Kelsey Williams to cut the deficit to 19-17 with 7:23 left before the break. Gannon eventually took a 27-25 lead into halftime despite committing 18 first-half turnovers.
The Vulcans scored the first seven points after the break to take a 32-27 lead after trailing for virtually the whole first half. The Golden Knights then countered with a 15-2 run over a span of 5:04 to take a 42-34 lead and force Cal U into full timeout. Gannon continued to keep the momentum by expanding its lead to as many as 17 points, 58-41, with 4:22 remaining. The Vulcans then managed to work the deficit down to as 11 points, 58-47, with 51 seconds left in the game.
Cal U finished the game shooting 38.0 percent (19-of-50) from the field and only 43.8 percent (7-of-16) from the free-throw line. In stark contrast, Gannon made 55.3 percent (21-of-38) of its shots from the floor and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from the charity stripe.
Junior guard George Johnson led Gannon with 17 points, while freshman forward Anthony Simmons scored 14 points with six rebounds off the bench.
The Golden Knights held a sizeable 37-17 advantage on the glass, but committed 31 turnovers. The Vulcans scored 26 points off turnovers and finished with 32 points from in the paint.
Cal U continues divisional play on Saturday, Jan. 16, when it hosts Lock Haven at 5 p.m. Last year, the Vulcans and Bald Eagles split the season series with the road team winning each game.