Mar 13, 2022 3 min read

Brent Pegram led five California University players in double figures with 18 points and the Vulcans used a second-half comeback to defeat West Virginia State 67-65 in the second round of the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Atlantic Regional on Sunday at Indiana.

California (23-9) will play either host IUP or Mercyhurst on Tuesday (7 p.m.) with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Ind.

West Virginia State (24-8) used a 17-0 run to erase a 12-point deficit in the first half. The Yellow Jackets took a 34-29 lead into halftime and increased the gap to 51-40 with 11:27 remaining.

Cal, however, went on a 13-1 spurt to take a 53-52 lead after a basket by Philip Alston. Alston and Zyan Collins each had four points during the key run.

The Vulcans increased their lead before two WVS three-pointers around two free throws by Cal’s Preston Boswell pulled the Yellow Jackets to within 67-65 with 1:31 to play.

After misses by both teams, Cal called a timeout with 34 seconds left. The Vulcans ran down the shot clock but a three-point attempt by Keith Palek was blocked and went out of bounds off the Vulcans with 10 seconds to go.

A desperation three-point attempt by WVS’ Dwaine Jones, while closely guarded by Palek, bounced off the rim as time expired.

Alston and Palek each had a double-double. Alston has 12 points and 10 rebounds; Palek 10 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Collins scored 10 points and Bryson Lucas came off the bench to score 10.

WVS’ Glenn Abram scored a game-high 22 points.

On Saturday, California opened the tournament with a 95-74 victory over Fairmont State.

Cal’s win avenged a loss to Fairmont State back on Nov. 18.

Alston led the way for California with a game-high 29 points and 15 rebounds.

Collins finished with 20 points, six rebounds and three assists. Boswell scored 15 points before fouling out. Palek and Lucas each scored 10 points.

California led 52-35 at halftime.

George Mangas paced the Falcons (23-8) with 18 points.

Women’s results

Charleston 52, California 34: California’s season came to an end Saturday with a 52-34 loss to Charleston (W.Va.) in the second round of the NCAA Division II tournament’s Atlantic Regional at Glenville, W.Va.

Charleston (23-8) avenged a loss to Cal in the second game of the regular season back on Nov. 14, but this time the Vulcans were without their leading scorer, junior forward Dejah Terrell, who was ejected from a first-round win over IUP with 4:45 remaining after she was called for an intentional foul.

NCAA rules allowed Terrell to play in the second round. However, it is the policy of the PSAC, of which California is a member, that players ejected must serve a one-game suspension. The conference office ruled that Terrell must sit out the game against Charleston.

Cal (25-6) led 13-2 after one quarter, holding the Golden Eagles to 1-for-12 shooting. But the Vulcans went into a deep freeze over the next 20 minutes, scoring only six points.

Charleston led 17-15 at halftime and 37-19 after three quarters. The Vulcans made only three of 30 shots over the second and third quarters, and shot just 20 percent for the game. Cal was 3-for-30 from three-point range.

Clarissa Francis paced Charleston with 14 points.

Brionna Allen had 14 points and Shauna Harrison scored 11 for Cal.