ANGWIN, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team finished California Pacific Conference play undefeated for the first time in program history with a 71-57 win over Pacific Union College on Saturday night.
The Bobcats (8-0) are just the third team to finish Cal Pac play undefeated, joining the 2019-20 University of Antelope Valley Pioneers and the 2011-12 Cal Maritime Keelhaulers.
Up next for the Bobcats, the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game on Monday, April 26 in Riverside, Calif. The Bobcats advance straight to the title game due to their regular season success and will play the winner of the semifinal matchup between Pacific Union and La Sierra University.
The Bobcats beat PUC and La Sierra four times each this season with a program-record 12.6 scoring margin.
Jonah Cottrell played a big role in Saturday night's historical win, scoring a career-high 25 points and passing up Ryan Edwards and Michael Pierick for seventh on the program's all-time scoring list with 713 career points. Cottrell shot 62% (8-13) from the floor and 50% (5-10) from beyond the arc. Also impressive, Cottrell scored 25 points despite not taking a shot within the first 12 minutes of the contest.
The sharpshooter also neared his career-high with three steals.
Mason Westlake finished with 17 points, while Chiwike E'denchukwu was good for eleven points on 50% (3-6) shooting. E'denchukwu has shot at least 50% in all eight games this season.
Robert Benson impacted the game in many ways and registered a career-high four blocks to go along with seven points, four rebounds and three assists.
Benson is the fifth player in program history with four blocks in a game. He joins E'denchukwu, Aaron Laflin, George Idehen and Kingsley Obiorah.
Other individual notables include a career-high eight rebounds for Jaron Mertle. Tiler Fears had three assists, Angel Serena was credited with a steal.
The Bobcats led for the majority of the game, including for the final 23 minutes and by double figures for the final 14 minutes. The Bobcats biggest lead was 19 points, 63-44, with five minutes to go.
The Bobcats only allowed Pacific Union to score back-to-back buckets three times in 40 minutes, whereas the Bobcats scored unanswered buckets a plethora of times and scored ten straight points towards the end of the first half.
Overall, UC Merced shot 43% (23-53) from the floor, 36% (10-28) from beyond the arc and 71% (15-21) from the charity stripe.
The Bobcats limited Pacific Union to just 39% from the floor and held the opponent under 60 points for the third time this season.
The Bobcats have won eleven straight games dating back to last season when holding the opposition under 60.
Up next, the Bobcats have the chance to make more history as they look to win their first ever conference championship. Tipoff against either Pacific Union or La Sierra is scheduled for 5:00pm on Sunday, April 25.
