Jan 2, 2022 3 min read

Sophomore Philip Alston posted a double-double and junior Zyan Collins surpassed the 1,000-point milestone, as California University chalked up an 81-64 win against Kutztown on Sunday afternoon at the Convocation Center in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Crossover play.

With the victory, the Vulcans improved to 8-3 this season. The Vulcans have won back-to-back meetings at home against the Golden Bears for the first time in over two decades. Kutztown fell to 4-7 overall.

Alston registered 20 points and 14 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. He also matched his career high with four blocks while playing 37 minutes. Alston has scored at least 20 points five times this year while averaging 20.9 points per game, which leads the league.

Collins scored 16 points and added nine rebounds and five assists in Sunday afternoon’s game. He joins senior Brent Pegram as the first 1,000-point scorer in program history since Borris Mesnager (2003-06) accomplished the feat. Collins becomes the 34th overall player in school history to reach the milestone (1,004).

Senior Preston Boswell also finished with 16 points behind three-of-five shooting from beyond the arc and collected four assists. Freshman Bryson Lucas totaled 10 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals while making his first career start. Pegram posted 12 points, four rebounds and three steals after battling first-half foul trouble.

Cal opened the game on an 8-2 run before Boswell made a trio of three-pointers in a span of 2:12 to extend the lead to 19-11 with 12:18 remaining before halftime. The Golden Bears later scored seven of eight points to trim the deficit to 25-20 at the 5:50-mark. Cal closed the first half on a 7-2 run to take a 36-27 lead at the break behind 12 points each from Alston and Boswell.

The Golden Bears mounted a 10-3 run early in the second half to trim the deficit to 41-37 with 16:53 left to play. The Vulcans countered with a 13-2 rally in just under three minutes to stretch the lead to 62-47 at the 9:42-mark. Collins reached the 1,000-point milestone on a fastbreak layup with 11:59 left.

Kutztown later posted a 7-2 run to work the deficit to 70-59 before Cal responded with a 9-1 rally, highlighted by two dunks from Alston, to stretch the lead to 79-60 with 1:12 remaining.

Cal finished the game shooting 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the floor, including 9-of-21 (42.9 percent) from long range. Meanwhile, the Golden Bears were held to a season-low .319 field-goal percentage (23-of-72) and just 22.7 percent (5-of-22) from three-point territory.

Kutztown held a 48-47 rebounding advantage, while Cal scored 22 points off turnovers and totaled five blocks.

The tandem of junior Robert Tucker and senior Kyree Generett tied for the lead on the Golden Bears with 11 points. Junior Wesley Butler posted eight points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in the losing effort.

The Vulcans open PSAC West play on Wednesday, Jan. 5, when they host two-time, defending-PSAC Champion and No. 10 IUP at 5:30 p.m.

Cal women ppd.

The PSAC game between California and Kutztown was postponed Sunday. The game will be made up at a later date.