Strong start for Fayette Not Enough to Hold Off DII Cal

CALIFORNIA, Pa. – California University of Pennsylvania used a strong second half to pull away and take an 89-64 win visiting Penn State Fayette in a non-conference game at Cal's Convocation Center.

Fayette trailed by just eight going into halftime. Cal used a 17-4 run to open the second half and took control of the game.

"Their inside play was just a little too strong for us," Fayette Head Coach Mark John said. "We worked on fronting the post, but all of the Cal U big men did a terrific job of establishing position and finishing at the rim."

Matt McKenna led the Roaring Lions with 23 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Jake Bronder had 16 and six rebounds while CJ Gaddis registered four assists.

"Matt and Jake worked tirelessly all night on both ends of the court. Jake was close to a double-double, and I believe Matt had close to 25 points and eight or nine rebounds," John pointed out. "When we get effort like that from our post players against scholarship schools like Cal and Point Park, it's going to pay dividends in PSUAC play."

The team's plan was to pressure the Vulcans and the coach had high praise for Luke Williams, Tony Bristol and Dominck Jackson.

"Luke has done a workman-like job on defense four games in a row, John added.  "He's really established himself as our lock-down defender, and tonight was no different.  Tony and Dom also did a tremendous job pressuring California's ball-handlers.  The three of those guys give us a whole new dynamic to the kinds of schemes we can throw at teams defensively."

Fayette opens up PSUAC play when the team travels to Penn State New Kensington on Nov. 20. Game time is 7:00 p.m. The game can be heard on WMBS radio or on the internet by following the link by the game's listing on the schedule.