Mercyhurst puts end to Cal’s season
California’s men’s basketball team’s season came to an end Saturday with a 54-50 loss at Mercyhurst in the first round of the PSAC Tournament.
The Vulcans, seeded sixth in the PSAC-West, finished with an 11-16 record, while the Lakers advance to play second-seeded IUP in the quarterfinals.
Junior Tynell Fortune led Cal with 17 points. Fellow junior Alonzo Murphy added eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while classmate Arman Marks chipped in eight points and nine rebounds.
Senior Chris Williams sank a pair of free-throws to put the Vulcans up by three with just under three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the game’s first points in over two minutes. The Lakers followed by tallying off eight-unanswered points to take a 53-48 lead with 22 seconds left in the game. Fortune added a basket with 11 seconds remaining to trim the deficit to 53-50, but the Lakers converted one-of-two at the charity stripe to secure the victory.
Wagner 59, Robert Morris 48: Kenneth Ortiz scored 18 points, and Marcus Burton added 15, as Wagner hung on to beat Robert Morris 59-48 in a battle of the two top teams in the Northeast Conference.
Wagner (18-11, 12-4) trailed by 10 with 9:09 left in the first half but went on a 21-3 tear. Robert Morris (19-12, 14-2) made just one of its final 14 shots before halftime and trailed 30-22 at the break.