MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team shot 51% and led by as many as 17 points en route to an 84-71 win over University of Saint Katherine Thursday night in the Bobcats home opener inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The win gives the Bobcats (3-0) their best start in program history.
Senior Matt Laflin led four Bobcats in double figures with 14 points, including 12 of them via the the long ball. Two of his triples came in the final two minutes to help regain a double digit lead and ice the game.
Laflin's twin brother, Aaron, recorded an eleven point, eleven rebound double-double, while junior point guard Cole Taira contributed 12 points to go along with five rebounds and five assists.
Ronnie Kozak scored a season-high ten points on an efficient 71% (5-7) from the floor and hauled in a season-high eight rebounds.
The Bobcats scored on two of their first three possessions to take an early lead which never disappeared. Junior Ryan Haywood put the Bobcats up 12-2 with a make at the charity stripe and junior transfer Raphael Durr added a steal and score midway through the first half to extend the Bobcats lead to 20-7. Durr leads the Bobcats with six steals in three games.
Both teams traded runs the remainder of the half. Saint Katherine went on a 12-2 run to cut the Bobcats lead down to three with 6:47 showing on the clock and the Bobcats countered that with an 18-6 run that put them back up by double figures. Seth Cobb had eight points during the run to help the Bobcats carry a 40-25 lead into the half. The 15-point halftime advantage was the largest halftime lead since October 28, 2017.
Sophomore Jonah Cottrell scored the Bobcats first five points in the second half on back-to-back possessions to maintain the double figure advantage. However, Saint Katherine began to catch fire from downtown and made five triples in the first five minutes to chip away at the lead. Eventually, the Bobcats lead was cut to 53-50 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
After a timeout, Matt Laflin and Andrew Williams combined to hit back-to-back-to-back unanswered triples to regain the double figure lead at 64-52. The triples, followed shortly after by a Kozak bucket, helped guide the Bobcats to their end result of an 81-68 victory.
The 13 point win marks the third time since the start of the 2017-18 campaign that the Bobcats have beaten back-to-back to opponents by double figures.
Other notables include five assists and four steals from Haywood and eight points each from Durr and Cobb.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats look to improve upon their best start in program history when they host No. 12 Oregon Tech Saturday night on Hostetler Court. Tipoff is slated for 7:30pm.
