MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team fell 62-57 to Cal State San Marcos on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (3-6, 1-4) used a late push to give themselves a chance and had possession of the basketball down 58-56 inside of 30 seconds, but could not complete the comeback. The Bobcats were down 58-50 with 2:30 left before cutting the deficit to 58-56.
Sterling McClanahan led the Bobcats with a season-high 23 points on 69% (9-13) shooting. His second 20+ point game of the year was accompanied by a steal and a block. McClanahan played 27 minutes off the bench. Also of note, his 23 points ties the Bobcats individual 2025-26 single-game scoring high.
Elijah Charles put up a double-double with 12 points and ten rebounds. The program's current leader in field goal percentage registered an 85.7% (6-7) success rate. Friday marked his third double-double of the season and fifth of his career, passing Ronnie Kozak and Matt Laflin for the ninth most double-double's in program history. Charles was also credited with a block and a steal.
Austin Dewes helped anchor the Bobcats defense with a career-high tying four blocks. With his stellar defensive showing, Dewes passed Derek E'denchukwu and Ryan Haywood for eighth in program history with 36 career blocks.
Jon Taylor scored seven points to go along with three rebounds and two assists. Myles Haynes added six points, three rebounds, and a steal.
Other notables include seven rebounds for Pawllos Habtom and five rebounds for Cyprus Graham.
The Bobcats got off to a good start and took a 7-1 lead over the first three and a half minutes with three different Bobcats hitting a field goal, including a Jaden Hubbard three-pointer. UC Merced also led by six points at 13-7 a few minutes later before a 7-0 Cal State San Marcos run marked the first lead change of the game.
McClanahan put the Bobcats back in front midway through the first half. Leading 19-16 inside of eight minutes, the Bobcats gave up an 8-0 run over the next five minutes which put them behind by two possessions for the first time on the night. McClanahan got the Bobcats going again and he scored the teams next five points to make it a one-point game. However, UC Merced trailed 31-26 at intermission.
Cal State San Marcos opened the second half with a triple to go up 34-26, and the eight-point lead would end up being tied for the biggest lead of the game. The teams traded scores over the next five minutes as the deficit remained three possessions with 13:00 to go.
A McClanahan triple at the 12:37 mark proved to be a Bobcats spark. Taylor followed with a jumper and then McClanahan converted a three-point play to give the Bobcats a 43-42 lead and cap an 8-0 burst. CSUSM stopped the Bobcats run with a three-pointer and went on to lead the rest of the game.
Despite never leading, the Bobcats remained within two possessions until the final three minutes when CSUSM matched its game-high lead of eight points, 58-50. UC Merced battled back starting with a Haynes bucket. McClanahan then jumped a pass and threw down a one-handed slam to make it 58-54 inside of two minutes. He scored again the next trip down the floor to make it a one-possession game. However, a Bobcats block was followed by an offensive miscue and the Bobcats had to send the Cougars to the foul line with the shot clock off. The Cougars put their finishing touches on the win at the stripe.
UC Merced shot 46% in the loss, 10% better than CSUSM, and held a +9 rebounding advantage but lost the turnover battle 18-11 and struggled at the free throw line.
UC Merced had seven blocks as a team, marking its most in a conference game since January 27, 2024.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will host Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday, January 4 at 3:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
