MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team limited NCAA Division III foe UC Santa Cruz to just 27% shooting and forced 13 turnovers in a 54-47 wire-to-wire victory on Thursday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

With the win, the Bobcats (18-8) tied their program record with 18 wins overall and improved to 10-3 on Hostetler Court.

Kingsley Obiorah became UC Merced's all-time double-double's leader in the victory with his 17th double-double of his career, passing George Idehen's record that previously stood since 2014. Obiorah, who has eleven of his 17 double-double's this season, turned in 19 points and ten rebounds on Thursday night. Obiorah also recorded four blocks for the second straight game, had two steals, and dished out two assists.

Mason Westlake and Georgie Nze posted identical stat lines of eight points, two steals, and two assists. Westlake also grabbed four rebounds and he got to eight points in part due to hitting a pair of early three-pointers.

Josiah Ajiake recorded a career-high five assists to go along with four points and three rebounds.

Myles Haynes grabbed a career-high six rebounds and blocked a shot.

Defensively, the Bobcats have now held two of their last three opponents under 50 points and have accomplished that feat on four occasions this year.  

The Bobcats defensive presence was made known from the opening jump, holding UC Santa Cruz to just two points for the first six minutes and ten points for the first eleven minutes. Head coach Kevin Pham's squad allowed just six more points the rest of the first half and led 34-16 at intermission.

Offensively, UC Merced's Obiorah couldn't be stopped in the opening stanza and he scored 14 points on 100% (5-5) shooting. Obiorah, who logged 15 first half minutes, also sunk four of his five foul shots. Westlake hit two triples in the first half.

UC Merced led by as many as 20 points on the night, 34-14 just before intermission.

The Bobcats led 45-26 with 12 minutes to go before UC Santa Cruz ended the game on a 21-9 run. UC Santa Cruz cut the Bobcats lead down to five points inside of 90 seconds but didn't score the rest of the way. Nze sealed it with a pair of foul shots to finalize the 54-47 victory.

The Bobcats have won six in a row while holding opponents under 50 points and 26 in a row when holding opponents to 60 points or less.

Head-to-head against the Banana Slugs, UC Merced won their second straight game against UC Santa Cruz dating back to January 24, 2017. This was just their first meeting since then and the eighth in the all-time series that dates back to 2012. The Bobcats three wins all time over UC Santa Cruz marks the most wins against any NCAA opponent in program history.

Looking ahead, UC Merced hosts Simpson University for Senior Night and the regular season finale on Saturday, February 18 at 7:30pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.