Jan 5, 2022 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – Indiana made nine three-point field goals int he second half to eliminate a nine-point halftime deficit and pulled out an 84-71 win over California University Wednesday night in a key PSAC West Division men’s basketball game the Convocation Center.

“We did a poor job in the second half of executing on-ball screens and gave them a bunch of good looks,” said fourth-year Cal coach Danny Sancomb. “I feel we did a much better job contesting them in the first half and we kind of lost our discipline in the second half.

“They were able to stretch us out and get some clean looks.”

The Vulcans (3-3, 9-3) were hot early and raced out to a 29-12 lead with 9:14 to go in the first half, but the 10th-ranked Crimson Hawks (5-1, 11-1) chipped away to trim the Cal lead to 40-31 at the half.

“We were ready to play, moved the ball and got some good shots,” Sancomb said of the early action. “We were able to get into transition in the first half because I thought we played good defense and forced them into some tough shots.

“We were able to get out and run, which is one of our strengths.”

Cal made 12 of its first 23 shots (52 percent) and ended up shooting 47.2 percent (17-for-36) in the first half while limiting IUP to 34.4 percent over the first 20 minutes.

“The first nine, 10 minutes we played really well, and I thought we finished the half well with a nine-point lead,” Sancomb said. “But (we) didn’t start the second half like we needed to, and they cut the lead quick.”

IUP opened the second half with a 16-5 run and took its first lead with 14:34 to play when Ethan Porterfield hit a three-pointer, and the Vulcans only led for one possession the rest of the way. The Crimson Hawks maintained a two-possession lead for most of the last 10 minutes before putting the game away late at the foul line.

IUP has now beaten Cal 15 straight times.

“They are a good team offensively and they execute well,” Sancomb said. “They have a couple of guys who made some shots tonight that normally don’t, but that’s what good players do.

“I think the (Dave) Morris kid had a big game for them and was five-of-12 from three, and (Armoni) Foster is good and is going to have the ball in his hands.

“If he isn’t scoring, he is setting his teammates up, (although) we did a good job making things difficult for him. He hit a three six-feet behind the line late, but good players make big plays.”

Foster recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 assists, Morris had 22 points and Porterfield scored a game-high 23 points.

The Vulcans, playing without freshman starter Keith Palek, placed all five starters in double figures, although the bench was held scoreless.

“We are a well-rounded team, but it hurt having Keith out,” Sancomb said. “That gives us a little more depth which we could have used, but our starters are good players and can score.”

Zyan Collins and Brent Pegram led Cal with 17 points apiece, Preston Boswell added 16, Philip Alston had 11 and Bryson Lucas finished with 10.

Alston grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to record his fifth double-double of the season and the sophomore from Columbus, Ohio is averaging 10.2 rebounds per game.

Cal returns to action Saturday at Pitt-Johnstown.