MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team was edged 47-45 by Westcliff University on Thursday night in the first of a four-game homestand inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats (8-6, 6-3) limited Westcliff to its second lowest scoring output of the year.
Head coach Kevin Pham's group held the 2023 Cal Pac Tournament Champions scoreless for the first eight minutes and to just eight points over the first 16 minutes. In that stretch, the Bobcats jumped out to a 9-0 lead and held a 16-8 lead inside of eight minutes. The Bobcats first 14 points were scored by seven different players.
Overall, Cameron Brown and Chris Bramah each shared game-high with 12 points. Brown shot 50% from the floor and added seven rebounds, a season-high four assists, and two steals to his scoring efforts. Bramah knocked two three-point field goals.
Jaron Mertle and Skylar Robinson hauled in ten and eight rebounds, respectively. Robinson's total is a season-high. He also scored five points. Jaden Lebel notched a block and a steal.
UC Merced led 20-17 at halftime before falling behind for the first time all night two and a half minutes into the second half at 27-26. Back-to-back Bramah triples put the Bobcats back up 32-27 and ignited a 10-0 run overall. After a Westcliff bucket, Martin drilled a three-pointer to put the Bobcats up by a game-high ten points at 39-29.
Westcliff countered with a 9-0 run of their own to pull within a point at the midway point of the second half. Scoring was hard to come by the rest of the way but the Bobcats hung on to the lead for the next five minutes.
It was 41-40 with UC Merced on top with 9:53 to play. The two teams combined for just four field goals the rest of the way, starting with a Robinson bucket 90 seconds later to go up 43-40. The score remained there for the next three minutes before Westcliff pulled even with a three-pointer. Robinson put the Bobcats back in front on the next possession and then the game was tied 45-45 with 2:52 to play and stayed that way until the final 31 seconds.
Westcliff had the basketball with 44 seconds left and drew a shooting foul on the possession. Sinking both free throws, they grabbed a 47-45 lead.
After that, UC Merced had two chances to either win the game or force overtime but a tough layup fell short and a contested buzzer-beating three-pointer as time expired was strong.
UC Merced finished the night shooting 34.5% from the floor, 21.4% from downtown, and 57.1% from the foul line.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will host University of Saint Katherine on Saturday, January 20 at 7:30pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
