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Alston’s double-double pushes Cal to victory

7 min read

Sophomore Philip Alston and senior Brent Pegram combined for 60 points, as the Vulcans earned an 89-84 victory at Edinboro in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West play on Saturday afternoon.

With the win, the California University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball team improves to 9-4 overall behind a 4-3 record in league action. The Vulcans are averaging 86.6 points per game this season, which is the most since the 1990-91 campaign when they scored nearly 93 points per game. Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots fall to 5-6 this season with a 3-3 mark in conference play.

Alston registered his third 30-point game of the season and set a career high with 18 rebounds (eight offensive). He shot 12-of-20 from the floor and converted eight-of-nine from the free-throw line while playing 36 minutes on Saturday. Alston also matched his career high of four blocks for the fourth time this year and added a pair of assists. His 18 rebounds are the most by a Cal U player since Jahmere Howze collected 20 rebounds in November of 2017.

Pegram scored 27 points (19 second half) behind 12-of-13 from the free-throw line and added five rebounds and two assists in the win. He is now tied with Dick Majernik (1951-55) for No. 12 all-time in school history with 1,317 points. Senior Preston Boswell (New Martinsville, W.Va./Magnolia) finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while junior Zyan Collins (South Riding, Va./Freedom) totaled 10 points, eight rebounds and three assists.

Edinboro held a 73-66 lead with just over seven minutes left in the second half before a dunk by Alston started a run of six-consecutive points by Cal U in a span of 75 seconds to trim the deficit to 73-72. The Fighting Scots worked the lead to 79-75 before Alston and Pegram accounted for eight points during an 8-0 run, as the Vulcans took an 83-79 lead with 1:59 remaining. The teams traded baskets before Boswell retrieved a pivotal offensive rebound with 20 seconds left that led to Cal sealing the win with four free-throws in the final moments.

Wash & Jeff 79-76: Sophomore Isaiah Langston recorded his first collegiate double-double to help lead the Washington & Jefferson College men’s basketball team to a 79-76 over Grove City Saturday afternoon in a game at the College Arena in Mercer County.

The win improves the Presidents to 12-3 overall and 7-1 in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference play. W&J is 8-0 on the road this season and has won 12 game road winning streak overall. Grove City drops to 5-6 overall and 1-3 in the PAC.

Kyran Mitchell put together another strong performance, leading W&J with 22 points, six rebounds and five steals. Langston finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds to log the double-double.

Waynesburg, 78-73: For a second-straight game, the Waynesburg University men’s basketball team faced one of the top teams in the Presidents’ Athletic Conference and one of the most dangerous individual performers in the league. However, unlike Wednesday’s home loss to Washington & Jefferson, the Yellow Jackets were able to outgun a potent Geneva squad and pick up an important 78-73 road win on Saturday.

With the victory, Waynesburg (4-1, 8-4) is now a half-game ahead of idle Chatham for second place in the league standings. The contest also served as a stage for the top two scorers in the PAC: Waynesburg senior guard Matt Popeck, who is in second place, and Geneva junior Lyle Tipton, the league’s top point producer.

After being held in check throughout the first half, Popeck exploded for 26 of his game-high 31 points over the final 20 minutes of play. Following the victory, Waynesburg’s star veteran remained behind only Tipton in the race for the PAC scoring title with a 22.6 ppg average.

With Popeck, and the offense as a whole, struggling to get off the blocks, Waynesburg found itself in a 40-32 hole at the halftime break.

Women’s Results

Edinboro, 62-53: Playing its first game in nearly a month, the California University of Pennsylvania women’s basketball team suffered a 62-53 loss at Edinboro while opening Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West play on Saturday afternoon.

With the loss, the Vulcans fall to 8-2 this season with a 4-2 mark in league action. Cal, which was playing its initial game since Dec. 19, has now lost seven-straight meetings against Edinboro at McComb Fieldhouse with its last road win in the series coming in the 2014-15 campaign.

Meanwhile, the Fighting Scots, who were also playing for the first time since Dec. 19, improve to 6-3 overall behind a 4-2 record in conference play.

Junior Brionna Allen led the team and tied a season high with 17 points. She shot 7-of-11 from the floor and added four rebounds while playing 22 minutes on Saturday. Allen ranks third on the team in scoring this year while shooting a career-best 53.4 percent (39-of-73) from the field.

Teammate Lauren Bennett scored 11 points on five-of-nine shooting, plus collected eight rebounds and four steals against the Fighting Scots. Fellow junior Dejah Terrell tallied 11 points (all first half), six rebounds, two blocks and three steals before fouling out. Junior Shauna Harrison paced the team with nine rebounds and added nine points and three steals in the loss.

W&J 75-53: Freshman Meghan Dryburgh posted a career-high 23 points and added nine rebounds to lead the Washington & Jefferson College women’s basketball team to a 75-53 win over host Grove City College Saturday in a Presidents’ Athletic Conference contest at the College Arena in Mercer County.

Dryburgh shot the ball went throughout the contest, as the first-year President converted on 10-of-14 field goal attempts and drained three-of-four attempts at the free throw line. Dryburgh added nine rebounds, two assists, two blocks and two steals in the victory. Senior guard Piper Morningstar joined Dryburgh in double figures with 13 points of her own.

Freshman guard Bryn Bezjak added nine points off of the bench while sophomore forward Sarah Berardelli chipped in eight points, six rebounds and three assists. Junior forward Victoria Koeck matched Dryburgh with the team lead in rebounds with nine.

Geneva, 79-78: The Waynesburg University women’s basketball team’s Presidents’ Athletic Conference road game at Geneva on Saturday featured plenty of momentum swings over 40 minutes.

The Yellow Jackets dominated the first and fourth quarters, while the Golden Tornadoes owned the middle of the contest. By the time the dust settled, it was the homestanding Golden Tornadoes, who pulled out a 79-78 triumph.

Waynesburg (1-5, 1-11) sprinted out of the gates and built up a 16-6 lead after just four minutes of play. That advantage swelled to 17 points on multiple occasions and by the time the opening quarter came to a close, the Jackets found themselves ahead 33-18.

Trailing 38-23 2:21 into the second quarter, Geneva (4-1, 5-5) clawed its way back into the contest with a 15-2 run that made the score 40-38 Waynesburg with 2:52 remaining until halftime. A three-pointer by Jacket sophomore Avery Robinson slowed the surge, but the host team tallied the final seven points of the quarter, including a buzzer-beating three pointer that gave Geneva the lead at 45-34 heading into the break.

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