MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team returned to Hostetler Court for the first time in nearly a month and handled business with a dominant 73-46 win over Nobel University on Saturday night.
The Bobcats (8-5) eighth win of the year ties the program-record for the most nonconference wins, originally set in the 2018-19 season.
Cameron Brown led the Bobcats with 18 points and jumped two spots on the program's all-time scoring list, passing Kingsley Obiorah and Matt Laflin to pull even with Aaron Laflin for the fifth most in program history with 774 career points. Brown made a season-high three triples in his most recent outing and added four rebounds, a block, a steal, and an assist.
Jayson Wiltz added 12 points, while Aidan Sevilla was good for eleven points on 80% (4-5) shooting. Sevilla, who also had three assists, was 75% (3-4) from downtown. His three three-pointers ties his career-high.
Myles Haynes pitched in seven points with Tiler Fears and Josiah Ajiake contributing six and five points, respectively. Fears, who passed Andrew Williams for the tenth most games played in program history with 89 career contests, also cashed in four free throws to move ahead of Obiorah for seventh all-time with 164 made foul shots.
Pawllos Habtom recorded four steals and Austin Dewes blocked three shots to help the Bobcats limit Nobel to just 46 points, the Bobcats second fewest points allowed this season. Dewes moved on to the Bobcats top 10 list with 20 career blocks, passing Devin Fountain.
Other notables include five rebounds from Dewes, a career-high tying four assists for Blake Hudson, a season-high three assists for Ajiake, and two blocks from Jaron Mertle.
UC Merced had a season-high seven blocks as a team and forced 16 turnovers, the second most of the season. The Bobcats ten three-pointers also marked the second-highest output of the campaign.
The Bobcats started the game with a 9-2 run with three-pointers on three straight possessions. Of note, three different Bobcats knocked down those triples. Brown hit a second three-pointer a little later to put his team up 13-4 and then Haynes followed with a layup for UC Merced to lead by double digits for the first time, 15-4 seven minutes into the game.
Nearly three minutes later, Haynes completed a three-point play for a 23-9 lead. The Bobcats led 31-20 at the 5:30 mark, but Nobel cut the Bobcats lead down with a 7-0 run over the next four minutes to pull within four points at 31-27. Sevilla ended the Bobcats scoring drought with a make from downtown as UC Merced led 34-27 at halftime.
Head coach Kevin Pham's team scored seven straight points to start the second half capped by a Wiltz three-point play to get the lead back to 14 points, 41-27. The advantage was then cut to eight points before an 8-0 run to earn a new game-high lead of 16, 49-33. Wiltz was again a key part of the stretch.
UC Merced led 49-37 with 11:22 left before stretching the lead the rest of the night, outscoring Nobel 24-9 over the final eleven minutes. The Bobcats held Nobel without a field goal for nearly a five-minute stretch from the 8:51 mark to the 4:15 mark.
The Bobcats grabbed their first 20-point lead at 59-39 inside of eight minutes and led by as many as 24 before Nobel stopped its scoring drought.
Ajiake had a 5-0 run of his own inside the final minute to finalize the scoring in the 73-46 victory.
The Bobcats finished the night shooting 43% from the field, 37% from downtown, and 68% from the charity stripe.
UC Merced's win was its third consecutive at home. Saturday also marked the first ever meeting between the Bobcats and Nobel.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats will play UC Santa Cruz at KP Arena in Santa Cruz, Calif., on Friday, January 10 at 7:00pm.
