Cal men let one slip away
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Vulcan Olivia Hudson drives past defending Falcon Sierra Kotchman for a basket that put California up 57-39 over visiting Fairmont State in the third quarter of the November 18 game.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Brionna Allen (34) of Cal slips between Falcon defenders Bre Wilson (32) and Alyssa Deangelo (4) to put Cal up 59-42 over visiting Fairmoint State on Nov. 18.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter California's Ciara Loyd drives through the paint past Fairmont State's Madeline Huffman for a two-pointer that put the Vulcans up 73-52 over the visiting Falcons in the third quarter of the November 18 game.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Ciara Loyd of Cal scores two of her 13 points on the evening with a leap over Fairmont State defender Alyssa Deangelo in the fourth quarter of the game at California on Nov. 18.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Olivia Hudson of Cal powers past Falcon Sierra Kotchman as Hudson puts California up 79-52 over visiting Fairmont Stae in the fourth quarter of the November 18 game.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Cal's Dejah Terrell slips past Fairmont's Jalen Gibbs (10) as she lays in one of the 13 two-pointers she scored in the Nov. 18 game at California.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Fairmont State's Jalen Gibbs (10) is stymied by California's Olivia Hudson (14) and Halle Harrington (5) as the Vulcans dominated the Falcons 96-66 at homer on Nov. 18.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Fairmont State's Bre Wilson struggles past California's Dejah Terrell as the visiting Falcons lost to the Vulcans 96-66 on Nov. 18.
Mark Marietta/Observer-Reporter Fairmont State's Sierra Kotchman steers the offense from the top of the key as the Falcons visit the Vulcans of California University on November 18.
CALIFORNIA – For the first 39 minutes, the California University men’s basketball team played well enough to put itself in position to win its fourth game in the season’s opening week and notch a second victory over a top-25 opponent.
All the good things the Vulcans did in those 39 minutes came unraveled in the final 60 seconds.
No. 22-ranked Fairmont State forced three California turnovers in the final minute and rallied for a 95-92 victory Thursday night at the Convocation Center.
The game wasn’t decided until Phil Alston’s desperation 28-foot three-pointer bounced off the rim at as the final buzzer sounded.
It wasn’t all bad news for California as the Vulcans’ women’s team remained unbeaten with a 96-66 victory over Fairmont State in the night’s opening game.
The Cal men, led by another huge game by Alston – 35 points and 16 rebounds – held a 71-62 lead with 10 minutes remaining. The Vulcans were still clinging to a lead, 88-86, when they called a timeout with possession of the ball and one minute on the clock.
“We feel like we let one get away,” California coach Danny Sancomb said.
Followng the timeout, a steal by Fairmont State’s Seth Younkin set up a wide-open three-pointer by Briggs Parris that gave the Falcons (3-0) an 89-88 lead. Parris led Fairmont State with 29 points.
Cal’s D.J. Slaughter, who finished with five points, then missed a three from the right wing.
“D.J.’s a good shooter. I’m fine with him shooting that,” Sancomb said. “He was open. We made a good look and he needs to shoot that.”
After two more Cal turnovers, and a pair of FSU free throws, the Vulcans’ Brent Pegram made one of two at the line to make it 91-89 with 10 seconds remaining. Cal was only 11 of 18 at the free-throw line on the night.
Two free throws by Paris made it a four-point game but Pegram made a difficult three-pointer that cut the gap to 93-92 with five seconds to play.
Pegram almost had a triple-double with 20 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
Isaiah Sanders made two clutch shots from the free-throw line to push the gap back to three points and set up Alston’s desperation heave.
“We’re a good team,” Sancomb said. “We’ve played a challenging schedule that will help us in conference. … Defense is what held us back. We didn’t defend when we had a chance to build on a lead in the second half.”
Zyan Dobbs, who had two clutch steals in the final minute for Fairmont State, finished with 23 points. Sanders scored 26.
Keith Palek scored 12 points and Preston Bowell tallied 11 for the Vulcans.
Cal, 96-66
Dejah Terrell spent the past two seasons playing basketball at the NCAA Division III level. Ciaira Loyd did the same at the junior college level.
Talk about your big fish in small ponds.
Both are currently juniors at California and impact transfers with their new team.
Terrell, a quick and relentless post player, and Loyd, the latest in a long line of talented Cal point guards, each had a double-double as the Vulcans improved to 3-0.
Terrell dominated by scoring a game-high 33 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Loyd contributed 13 points and had 10 assists.
Terrell was third in the nation in double-doubles in 2019-20 when she played at Division III Albright. Terrell had planned to play for Division I Rider out of high school at Berks Catholic in Reading. She never made it to Rider and spent two seasons at Albright before transferring to Cal last spring.
“She’s not a Division III player,” Cal coach Jess Strom said.
That much was proven in the first half against Fairmont State (1-2), when she scored 22 points on 10-for-12 shooting, helping the Vulcans forge a 50-35 lead.
Cal closed the first quarter on a 20-4 run to lead 30-13. Terrell and Brionna Allen played large roles in the spurt. Allen scored the final six points of the quarter and finished with 15.
Loyd did a good job against Fairmont State guard and Trinity graduate Sierra Kotchman, who is the Falcons’ career scoring leader. Kotchman was held to seven points on 3-for-10 shooting.
“Terrell was awesome for them, and defensively they were getting in the passing lanes and pushing us off the three-point line,” said Fairmont State coach Stephanie (Michael) Anderson, who played for Cal and Strom.
Olivia Hudson scored 12 points, giving Cal four players in double figures. Alyssa DeAngelo and Jertaya Hall each had 15 points for Fairmont State.