ANGWIN, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team came out on the wrong end of a wild final 90 seconds, dropping a 77-74 contest at Pacific Union College on a historical Saturday night.

The Bobcats (7-10, 4-3) took a 72-71 lead with 1:12 left and tied the game at 74 with 25 seconds left, however Pacific Union's Jordan Lopez knocked down the game-winner in the final seconds to pull out the Pioneers victory.

Despite the loss, history was made in the late night game as Moses Oceguera made her head coaching debut due to a number of players and coaches out due to COVID-19 protocols. Oceguera is believed to be just the fourth woman in collegiate history to serve as the head coach of a men's basketball game. Oceguera joins Kerri-Ann McTiernan (CUNY Kingsborough/1995-2001), Teresa Phillips (Tennessee State/Feb. 13, 2003) and Tamara Moore (Masabi Range College/2020-Present).

Oceguera, assisted by Michael Sanchez, had nine active Bobcats. 

The Bobcats loss snapped a four-game winning streak and a program-best nine-game Cal Pac road winning streak dating back to 2020. Saturday night's game was game five of a season-long eight game road trip. The Bobcats were originally slated to go on a pair of four-game road trips with a home game on February 3 sandwiched between, however the home game was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

Mason Westlake, who drove to the rack to tie the game at 74 with 25 seconds left, finished with a team-high 22 points and held game-high with three steals and three assists. Saturday night marked Westlake's fourth 20+ point game of the season, his first in Cal Pac play. He cashed in four three-pointers en route to his Cal Pac season-high. Westlake's three assists were enough to pass Michael Pierick for sole possession of sixth place on the program's all-time list with 111 career assists.

Zach Phipps and Caleb Gilbert finished with 12 and eleven points off the bench, respectively. Phipps became the first ever Bobcat to go a perfect 4-4 from deep in a single-game. Previously, six Bobcats in program history had gone 3-3 from downtown. Both Phipps and Gilbert set Cal Pac career-high's.

Kingsley Obiorah neared his third double-double of the season with eight points and nine rebounds. Five of his nine rebounds came on the offensive end. The program's all-time blocks leader sent away three more shots in the contest and extended his multi-block streak to five straight games.

Robert Benson was all over the glass in his sixth career start and became the seventh Bobcat in program history to grab at least 15 rebounds in a game. He is just the third in the last five years, joining Aaron Laflin and Chiwike E'denchukwu. Benson also scored five points and blocked a shot.

Pacific Union's Chris Jones led all scorers with 29 points. 

Despite the loss, the Bobcats held a higher field goal percentage than the Pioneers. UC Merced shot 42% (27-64), while Pacific Union finished at a 39% (22-57) clip. Both teams hit at least ten triples. 

The scoring margin in the tightly contested game was between zero and five points for 37 of the 40 minutes of gametime. Despite PUC leading for the majority of the night, it was just a one possession game for 28 of the 40 minutes. 

The Bobcats biggest lead was two points at 18-16, while Pacific Union's biggest lead was nine at 47-36 30 seconds into the second half. UC Merced quickly erased the nine-point deficit via three triples in a two and a half minute span from Westlake. Soon after, the Bobcats led 52-51. The Bobcats also led at 60-59, but not again until a Benson putback put his team up 72-71 in the final 90 seconds. Benson's putback capped off an 8-2 run that turned a 69-64 deficit into the late one-point advantage.

Pacific Union then regained the lead with a three-pointer, only for Westlake to come back down the floor and tie the game with a strong drive to the basket. The shot clock was then off for Pacific Union and the Pioneers Jordan Lopez hit the game-winning jumper from the corner opposite his team's bench.

The Bobcats loss snapped a four-game winning streak against the Pioneers.

Up next, UC Merced continues their marathon road trip by visiting Cal Maritime on Tuesday, February 8 in Vallejo, Calif. Tipoff inside the PEAC Main Gym is scheduled for 7:30pm.