MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team became one of just two California Pacific Conference teams in the last two years to lead University of Antelope Valley at halftime but ultimately fell short against the two-time defending Tournament Champion, 83-75 Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
Halfway through the conference slate, the Bobcats (12-7, 4-3) hold a postseason spot and are one of three teams with a 4-3 record. The Bobcats are currently 2-1 against teams who would be in the Cal Pac Tournament if it started today. Antelope Valley holds the top spot at 7-0. Cal Maritime and Simpson are the two teams the Bobcats beat and they are both 4-3.
Jonah Cottrell led the Bobcats off the bench with 20 points (1 shy of career-high) and shot 75% (3-4) from three-point land. He also tied his season-high with three steals, which he set two Saturdays ago against Cal Maritime.
Four Bobcats finished in double figures overall. Seth Cobb hit four triples and was good for a career-high 15 points in just 16 minutes off the bench, while Ryan Haywood and Andrew Williams poured in 12 and eleven points, respectively. Haywood has now scored in double figures three straight games, his longest streak of the season. The senior guard also shared game-high with four assists. Williams had two assists and was 100% (3-3) at the charity stripe.
Overall, the Bobcats had one of their best shooting performances of the season finishing 49% (25-51) from the field, 43% (9-21) from downtown and 73% (16-22) from the foul line.
In front of a strong home contingent who had learned over the past couple days the meaning of this game, Williams got the Bobcats off to a hot start and the Bobcats led 8-1 three minutes in.
UAV climbed back to tie it at 8-8, but Williams broke the deadlock with his 15th three-pointer of the season. Later in the half tied at 19, Cobb checked in and buried his first of four triples to spark a 12-2 run that put the Bobcats up by double figures, 31-21. Cobb and Cottrell combined for all 12 points in the stretch.
The Bobcats also led by ten points at 34-24 with just under five minutes remaining in the first half. Although the advantage was cut to five shortly after, Mason Johnson highlighted a 7-0 run to extend the Bobcats lead to as many as 12 before intermission.
UAV's Kamal Holden banked in a 30 foot shot as time expired and the Bobcats led 42-33 at the half.
The nine-point UC Merced advantage was huge considering UAV had led every other Cal Pac team at intermission this season and did so by an average of 18.3 points per game. UAV led by double figures in five of those contests and by 20+ points in three of the five. Digging back, UAV had not trailed by nine or more points at halftime in a regular season Cal Pac game since January 14, 2017, a span of 42 games.
Out of the break, the Bobcats got three straight stops defensively and Alfred Batmani found a cutting Mason Westlake to go up 44-33.
The Bobcats led 53-44 five minutes into the half but the lead slowly diminished to 55-53 after three straight UAV triples, including two from the conferences leading scorer in Ronnie Rousseau III. Haywood sunk a pair of foul shots to regain a two possession lead.
With 11:56 left, the game was tied 57-57 and it marked the first of four ties in the next three minutes. Tied at 61, E'denchukwu impressed the crowd with a reverse layup and the Bobcats led 63-61 with 8:45 on the clock.
However, that was the last lead the Bobcats held as UAV countered with a 12-0 run over the next three minutes. Cobb halted the run with a triple to bring the deficit within single digits, 73-66.
The closest the Bobcats got to UAV was 75-69 after a Cottrell steal and score with three and a half minutes left. UAV followed with a 7-0 run to go up 82-69 with 90 seconds remaining. UAV scored again in the final 90 seconds, while UC Merced scored on its final three possessions for an 83-75 final.
The Bobcats were outscored 50-33 in the second half.
Ronnie Rousseau III led the Pioneers with 26 points. Rousseau III has scored 25+ points in two straight games and 20+ points in seven straight.
The two teams combined for 45 fouls, 25 of them were whistled against the Bobcats. Antelope Valley's Chris Johnson was called for a technical foul.
Up next, the Bobcats visit Pacific Union College in Angwin, Calif., on Saturday, February 1. Tip-off inside "The Covered Wagon" is scheduled for 8:30pm.
