LANCASTER, Calif. - The #5 University of California, Merced men's basketball team saw its season come to a close on Sunday afternoon after a 79-72 loss to #4 Cal Maritime in the California Pacific Conference Opening Round.

The Bobcats (9-12, 6-4) postseason berth was their program-best third in a row.

Unanimous All-Cal Pac First Team selection Mason Westlake led the Bobcats and shared game-high with 24 points on 62% (8-13) shooting. He was 50% (4-8) from beyond the arc and became the first player in program history to score 20+ points in multiple playoff games. His scoring output on Sunday puts him at 333 total points on the year, which is the sixth most in program history. Westlake also held game-high with three steals in 39 minutes of action.

Caleb Gilbert set the program's freshman postseason single-game record with 16 points. Like Westlake, Gilbert, who came off the bench, also knocked down four triples and was 57% (4-7) from deep. 

Freshman Jayson Wiltz matched the previous record with 15 points. Wiltz was playing in his first game since January 30.

Tiler Fears finished with six points and four assists. Kingsley Obiorah and Jaron Mertle had four points each and were solid on the glass with eleven and nine rebounds, respectively.

Obiorah passed Ronnie Kozak and tied Matt Laflin for seventh in program history with 371 career rebounds.

Obiorah also tallied a program postseason record four blocks.

Onkar Sidhu dished out five assists and notched two steals.

Cal Maritime was led by All-Cal Pac Second Team selection Amil Fields, who shared a game-high 24 points with Westlake. Fields also had six rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks.

UC Merced, under head coach Kevin Pham, got off to a hot start and led 13-2 after five minutes of play. The Bobcats garnered that lead in part due to six second chance points and two Cal Maritime turnovers.

After the gap was closed to eight points, Gilbert buried back-to-back triples to give the Bobcats a game-high 12-point lead at 22-10. The Bobcats last double figure lead of the night was 27-17 with eight minutes left in the first half. Cal Maritime had an answer to the deficit, a 12-2 run to tie the game at 29. 

Westlake put the Bobcats right back in front 31-29, the first of four lead changes in the final four minutes before intermission. The Bobcats led 37-36 at halftime.

Although it wasn't by much, Cal Maritime led for the majority of the second half and jumped out to a 51-44 lead after an early 9-2 run. The Bobcats used the three-ball to stay in it, and a Gilbert triple midway through the half gave the Bobcats a 57-55 advantage. 

The Bobcats final lead of the night was 60-59 with seven minutes remaining. Maritime jumped ahead with a basket inside followed by a Fields triple. It was a 68-63 game with five minutes left and a 75-70 Maritime lead inside the final two minutes.

Wiltz made it a one-possession game with under a minute to go, however Maritime's Divine Nwoko responded with a three-point play to make it 78-72. Maritime held the Bobcats from there to secure the win and advance to Monday's California Pacific Conference Semifinals against top-seeded University of Saint Katherine.

UC Merced shot 45% (23-51) from the floor, 37% (10-27) from downtown and 73% (16-22) from the charity stripe. Cal Maritime was 48% (27-56) overall and 59% (10-17) from deep.

The Bobcats outrebounded the opponent 36-28.

To stay up to date with UC Merced men's basketball in the offseason, follow @UCMercedMBB on Twitter and Instagram.