REDDING, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team held off a late Simpson charge and earned a 64-62 win in the final leg of a three-game road trip Thursday night inside the James M. Grant Center.
The Bobcats (10-6, 2-2) improved to 3-1 in one possession games this year and 5-1 in games decided by four or less points.
As a team, the Bobcats shot a season-high 52% (12-23) from beyond the arc. The mark is the highest since January 14, 2016 and the third highest in program history. The Bobcats also assisted on ten of the 12 triples and finished with a season-high 19 assists overall.
Mason Westlake led the charge offensively with 18 points, all coming from beyond the arc and he shot 46% (6-13) from deep. Westlake also tallied a season-high four assists and was one of two Bobcats with a pair of steals.
Jonah Cottrell kept up with Westlake and finished with 14 points off the bench, including 12 from three-point land on an efficient 67% (4-6) shooting night.
Raphael Durr turned in an all-around performance of 10 points, six assists, six rebounds and two steals. Durr's six assists marked a season-high and it marked his second highest assist output in a Bobcat uniform. Andrew Williams was good for seven points and a steal, while Ryan Haywood recorded five points and five rebounds.
The Bobcats led the 2019 postseason qualifying Red Hawks for the final 23 minutes and by a game-high 18 points early in the second half. Simpson's comeback attempt late in the game cut the Bobcats lead down to 54-48 with eight minutes left and to a single point, 59-58, with two and a half minutes on the clock.
Head coach Kevin Pham's team originally built their advantage to 18 points due to its stellar three-point shooting. Westlake and Williams combined to make four consecutive triples at the end of the first half to carry a 37-29 lead into the dressing rooms.
The sharpshooting continued out of the break and the Bobcats opened the second half on a 9-0 run to go up 46-29 less than three minutes in. The Bobcats scored on four of five possessions during the stretch and forced three turnovers. Chiwike E'denchukwu highlighted the run with a one-handed slam.
After a Simpson bucket to make it 46-31, Haywood found Westlake deep in the corner and he nailed the triple to record the 18-point lead, 49-31.
Simpson countered with a 27-10 run over the next 13 minutes to cut the Bobcats lead down to 59-58.
It was also a one-point game at 61-60 with a minute left. Up one with the ball, Cottrell clutched up and hit a game-changing three from the wing to take a 64-60 lead with 31 seconds remaining.
Cottrell is 100% (2-2) from downtown and 100% (2-2) from the charity stripe in the final 60 seconds of games this year. He also has two assists, an offensive rebound and a steal during that time.
Simpson added a field goal after Cottrell's triple to make it 64-62 and had last possession but the game-winner attempt was well defended by the Bobcats and UC Merced left Redding with a win for the second consecutive season.
The Bobcats limited Simpson to 25% (4-16) from downtown. As for UC Merced, the Bobcats shot 45% (24-53) from the floor, 52% (12-23) from three-point land and 44% (4-9) from the foul line.
Other notables include scoring 19 points off 15 Simpson turnovers.
Up next, UC Merced hosts Cal Maritime for Community Night on Saturday, January 18. Tip-off inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium is slated for 7:30pm.
