CHICO, Calif. – University of California, Merced men's basketball lost in its CCAA debut to Chico State, 69-50 on Thursday night inside Acker Gymnasium. The Bobcats (2-3, 0-1) were unable to overcome a cold shooting night.
Jaden Hubbard was the Bobcats leading scorer as he scored 14 points off the bench, including hitting the Bobcats only three-pointer.
Pawllos Habtom scored eight points with six of his eight coming at the foul line. He also collected a steal.
Elijah Charles finished with eight points, four rebounds, and a steal.
Cyprus Graham was good for five points, four rebounds, and three assists.
Other notables include five rebounds and four points from Sterling McClanahan and five points and three boards for Austin Dewes.
UC Merced finished just 1-16 from the three-point line and shot 55% (15-27) at the stripe. The Bobcats were held to 34% from the field overall.
Myles Haynes scored the game's first basket but that was the Bobcats only lead. Chico State followed with back-to-back three-pointers and splashed another one a few minutes later to go up three possessions at 13-6. Graham answered with a tough layup before the Bobcats were held without a field goal for the next ten minutes. Despite the cold shooting, UC Merced continued to play hard defensively and limited Chico State to just five made shots in the same ten-minute stretch.
Chico State led 28-14 before Hubbard snapped the Bobcats field goal drought. Though, the Wildcats then extended the advantage to 16 points, 35-19 at intermission.
UC Merced kept fighting and managed to cut the deficit to ten points with 13:19 remaining in the game. Hubbard had nine points in the first seven minutes of the second half to keep the Bobcats in it.
However, Chico State built its lead back up with an 8-0 run and led 55-36 just three minutes later. Chico State extended their lead to 20+ points with five minutes to go on its way to starting 1-0 in CCAA play.
Despite the loss, UC Merced made it tough on Chico State's offense throughout the night as the Wildcats shot just 26% from three-point range and committed 12 turnovers.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will finish its four-game Northern California road trip at Cal Poly Humboldt on Saturday, December 6. Tipoff from Lumberjack Arena in Arcata, Calif., is scheduled for 3:00pm.
