MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced men's basketball team completed a perfect California Pacific Conference schedule with a 67-44 win over Westcliff on Saturday afternoon.
UC Merced posted an undefeated 10-0 record in the Cal Pac, marking the second time in program history that the Bobcats finished the league schedule without a blemish. The Bobcats also extended their winning streak to 13 games overall, putting their record at 19-5 across the entire campaign.
Cameron Brown led all scorers with 18 points shooting 75% (9-12) from the field. Brown also finished with four rebounds and two steals. With his defensive output, he passed Cole Taira for fourth in program history with 98 career steals.
Aidan Sevilla tied his career-high with 16 points and hit 66% (2-3) of his three-point attempts. He added four rebounds and two assists.
Jaron Mertle contributed seven points and five rebounds, while Josiah Ajiake knocked down two triples to score six points.
Jayson Wiltz notched a career-high three steals. He also hit a three-pointer to move ahead of Aaron Laflin for fifth in program history with 107 career three-point field goals.
UC Merced's defense as a team was stellar yet again, limiting Westcliff to just 44 points on 32% shooting. UC Merced forced the Warriors into 19 turnovers. Westcliff's 23-point loss was their most lopsided home loss in program history and their first 20+ point loss in any regular season game since October 27, 2022.
The Bobcats made their defensive mark early on. After leading 9-8 five minutes into the game, UC Merced held Westcliff to just three made field goals the rest of the half while stretching the lead to as many as 21 points by halftime, 40-19. UC Merced's first double-digit lead was 22-11 midway through the first half and it was pushed to 19 points with 5:03 to go. An offensive rebound putback by Austin Dewes inside of a minute was the final bucket of the first half, resulting in the 40-19 lead.
Head coach Kevin Pham's team maintained a lead of at least 19 points the rest of the game. Brown scored a quick six points to start the second half giving the Bobcats a 51-26 lead with 14:40 to go.
The Bobcats cruised the rest of the way. Defensively, the Bobcats held Westcliff without a made field goal from the 12:56 mark to the 6:49 mark to maintain their big lead.
With the win, UC Merced swept the regular season series with Westcliff for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
Up next, UC Merced will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming California Pacific Conference Tournament and will host fourth-seeded Cal Maritime in the semifinals on Friday, February 28 at 8:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
