CHANDLER, Ariz. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team never led on Saturday night and suffered a 75-55 loss to Benedictine University Mesa Saturday night in game two of a three-game road trip.
The Bobcats (9-6, 1-2) last two games have been against 2019 postseason qualifiers and head coach Kevin Pham's team will see a third next week to complete the road swing.
Saturday night's 20-point loss was the biggest since December 20, 2017.
Jonah Cottrell led the Bobcats offense with eleven points off the bench and shot 67% (4-6) from the floor, 60% (3-5) from three-point land.
Mason Westlake extended his triples streak to 15 games and finished with ten points and tied his season-high with two assists.
Raphael Durr added eight points and a steal, while Ryan Haywood grabbed a team-high six rebounds and delivered a game-high four assists. Haywood also scored four points and blocked a shot. Seth Cobb was good for six points and five rebounds. Andrew Williams tied his career-high with three offensive rebounds.
BenU Mesa shot 51% (27-53) to win its second straight Cal Pac game and were led by Henry Galinato's 20-point, ten-rebound double-double.
UC Merced trailed 12-4 less than five minutes in and 21-10 midway through the half. Cottell cut the Redhawks lead to 21-13 with his first triple of the night and it sparked a 9-0 UC Merced run to get within a bucket at 21-19. Kingsley Obiorah had four points during the Bobcats best offensive surge.
However, the Bobcats failed to stop the Redhawks on seven of their final ten first half possessions and were behind 36-27 at intermission. The Bobcats were outrebounded 20-8 in the first 20 minutes but forced eight turnovers.
Head coach Kevin Pham's team has forced at least eight first half turnovers in all three Cal Pac games this year and five of the last six dating back to last season.
Out of the break, both teams scored five early points and combined to make four of seven shots. The Bobcats fell behind 47-34 less than five minutes into the second half but a 9-3 run cut the Redhawks lead down to seven with 11:35 remaining, 50-43.
Less than a minute later, the Bobcats were down 54-43 and trailed by 16 points after a Redhawk steal and score with 7:22 to go.
The deficit grew to 20 points at 68-48 and to as many as 21 points with a minute left, 73-52.
Cottrell accounted for the Bobcats final basket of the night, a triple off a Williams assist.
The Bobcats assisted on ten of 23 field goals and shot 38% (23-60) from the floor, 28% (7-25) from beyond the arc and 50% (2-4) from the charity stripe. The four free-throw attempts is the teams least since February 6, 2016.
Up next, the Bobcats visit Simpson University on Thursday, January 16 to complete its three-game road trip. Tip-off from the James M. Grant Center in Redding, Calif., is scheduled for 7:30pm.
