MERCED, Calif. – The top-seeded University of California, Merced men's basketball team used a late 15-1 run to down fourth-seeded Cal Maritime in the California Pacific Conference Championship Semifinals on Friday night, 70-61 inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (20-5) win puts them back in the Cal Pac Championship game for the second time in the last three years. The win also gives UC Merced its second 20-win season in the last three years and extends the program-record long winning streak to 14 games.
UC Merced will play No. 2 Westcliff in the tournament title game on Sunday looking to win the first Cal Pac Tournament Championship in program history. A win would also give the Bobcats their first automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships.
The Bobcats 70 points marked their most in a tournament game since 2022.
Jaron Mertle led five Bobcats in double-digits with 13 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds and collected a steal.
Cameron Brown had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds, marking his second career Cal Pac Tournament double-double and the seventh of his career overall.
Aidan Sevilla and Tiler Fears scored eleven points each. Sevilla did so shooting 60% (3-5) from three-point land, while Fears reached double-digits after hitting 89% (8-9) of his free throws. Myles Haynes scored ten points. All three Bobcats also grabbed four rebounds each and had at least one steal. Fears had two steals.
Other notables include three assists and a block from Jayson Wiltz, and a block from Haynes.
The Bobcats had to overcome deficits throughout the night, including a 9-1 hole less than five minutes in. Head coach Kevin Pham called a timeout and his squad delivered a 12-2 run over the next two minutes to grab their first lead of the night, 13-11 capped by a Haynes triple.
Five lead changes and four ties followed the rest of the half with UC Merced's last lead of the opening stanza being 22-20. Cal Maritime jumped in front 24-22 at the 5:54 mark and pushed the lead to five points shortly after at 28-23, but the Bobcats followed with a 5-0 spurt and a Sevilla three-pointer brought UC Merced back even. Cal Maritime owned the last 90 seconds hitting a pair of triples before attacking the rim and beating the first half buzzer to take a 36-30 lead into intermission.
The Bobcats halftime deficit was their first since December 12.
UC Merced's first two possessions on both ends of the floor were solid to start the second half. Sevilla hit a three-pointer and Haynes finished in traffic, and partnered with two defensive stops the Bobcats were back within a point. The Bobcats grabbed the lead a couple minutes later as Brown scored six unanswered points for a 41-38 UC Merced lead.
The Keelhaulers dialed up two Illyas Rafiq three-pointers to jump back in front. Wiltz knocked down one of his own as the game was knotted up again, 44-44 with 13 minutes left.
Lead changes followed with UC Merced going up 50-46 and then the upset-hunting Keelhaulers went ahead 52-50 before the Bobcats game-changing run.
Trailing 52-51 with eight minutes left, Mertle buried a three-pointer in the corner to put the Bobcats in front and spark his teams final push. The Bobcats followed by hitting six consecutive foul shots and then back-to-back buckets by Fears and Haynes capped off the 15-1 run to give the Bobcats a 65-53 lead inside of five minutes. UC Merced's lead never dipped below eight points the rest of the night. Fears finished with eight points in the explosion. He scored the very first point of the run, before Mertle's three-pointer, on a free throw due to a Cal Maritime technical foul.
UC Merced led 67-57 with three minutes left and were up 70-59 inside of 90 seconds to secure the victory.
The Bobcats forced 12 Cal Maritime turnovers on the night and limited them to 39% from the floor.
Friday night's game was the seventh postseason meeting between the two-long time foes. With the win, UC Merced owns the playoff series 4-3.
Also of note, the Bobcats have six straight wins overall against Cal Maritime.
UC Merced will be back in action on Sunday, March 2 as the Bobcats host Westcliff in the Cal Pac Tournament Championship game inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium at 4:00pm.
