MERCED, Calf. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team shot a season-high 54% (24-44) from the floor and forced 17 turnovers en route to a 71-53 win over Pacific Union College in the California Pacific Conference opener late Saturday night on Hostetler Court.
The Bobcats (9-4) improved to 7-1 at home with the win and begin Cal Pac play 1-0 for the second time in the last three years.
It's been 35 games since the Bobcats made at least half of their shots and the 54% mark is the highest since shooting 56% on February 15, 2018.
Ryan Haywood missed just once and led all scorers with 18 points while also tallying a team-high nine rebounds and six assists. His first assist broke the program's all-time record and he currently has 282 career assists with a scheduled 13 games left in his career. The previous record of 276 assists was held by Cole Taira (2016-2019).
Haywood is also the Bobcats all-time steals leader.
Mason Westlake added eleven points and shot 75% (3-4) from beyond the arc to become the fourth player in program history to sink 100 career triples. Westlake joins Aaron Laflin, Matt Laflin and Michael Pierick.
Kingsley Obiorah, Raphael Durr and Jonah Cottrell each added nine points. Durr also had three assists, while Cottrell grabbed a Cal Pac career-high five rebounds. Haywood and Chiwike E'denchukwu recorded two steals.
Haywood's all-time assists record to start out the night was to Obiorah on the right block and it started an 8-0 UC Merced run. The Bobcats didn't miss during the stretch and the four field goals came from different players.
The Bobcats held Pacific Union without a field goal for the first three minutes and it was the Pioneers point guard De'Rajaee Austin who notched a steal and score.
PUC started to find its rhythm with the bucket while the Bobcats struggled to score for nearly the rest of the half. After a Haywood layup that put head coach Kevin Pham's team up 12-8 with 15 minutes left, the Bobcats went without a field goal for the next ten minutes and 40 seconds. The game didn't get out of hand though as Andrew Williams buried a couple free throws and the defense forced five turnovers during the scoreless stretch. Due to that, the deficit was only 17-12 at worst.
Seth Cobb snapped the Bobcats 0-13 field goal spell after running the floor well and benefitting from a beautiful Haywood bounce pass between a pair of defenders. Cobb's layup had the Bobcats within two at 18-16 with four minutes and 20 seconds to play in the half. A possession later, Cobb fed Cottrell beyond the arc and the junior put the Bobcats up 19-18.
The Bobcats then scored 13 unanswered and went on a 14-1 run in the final three minutes of the half to bring a 33-21 lead into the dressing rooms.
The double figure halftime lead was the second in the last three games.
Pacific Union opened the second half on a 12-0 run to tie the game at 33 less than five minutes in.
Tied at 33, Obiorah muscled through a Pioneer defender to get a basket and was rewarded with a foul. The sophomore sunk the free throw and the Bobcats led the rest of the way.
It was still a three point game at 41-38 approaching the midway point of the half, but the Bobcats played their best ten minute stretch of the night and closed the game on a 30-15 run.
Haywood started the run after finding a gap in the defense and laying it up with his right hand. A possession later, Westlake was the victim of a flagrant foul and hit both free throws to go up 45-38. With seven minutes left, Durr found Westlake in the corner for three to grab a 54-42 lead.
The Bobcats held on to the double figure lead the rest of the night and were up 15 with 3:38 left.
Westlakes 100th career triple put the Bobcats up 67-48 and the biggest lead of the night was 20 points at 71-51 after a pair of Durr free throws.
During the 30-15 game-ending run, the Bobcats shot 100% (3-3) from beyond the arc, 81% (9-11) from the floor and 81% (9-11) from the charity stripe.
The Bobcats also allowed just five PUC rebounds during the stretch and won the rebounding battle 32-30 overall.
Other notables include 20 bench points and 14 assists. Cobb, E'denchukwu and Williams each blocked a shot.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats visit 2019 California Pacific Conference Tournament Runner-Up Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) in Prescott, Ariz., on Thursday, January 9. Tipoff from the ERAU Activity Center is scheduled for 6:30pm PST.
