MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team scored over 100 points for the fifth time in program history and collected a program-record 24 steals in a dominant 104-79 win over PUC on Monday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The dominant victory also marked the Bobcats (1-0) ninth straight home-opening win. UC Merced improved to 8-2 in its last ten season openers.
UC Merced also forced a program-record 36 turnovers and grabbed 23 offensive rebounds, the Bobcats most offensive rebounds since October 30, 2014. The Bobcats 24 steals are the most by any CCAA team in the last decade. Also of note, UC Merced's 104 points are the most by a CCAA team since Stanislaus State on November 29, 2025.
Freshman Kyle Brown led four Bobcats in double figure scoring with 15 points in just ten minutes off the bench. Brown joins Aki Chambers (2011) and Sean Rodriguez (2016) as the only Bobcats with at least 15 points in their collegiate debut. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native shot 56% (5-9) from the floor and 80% (4-5) at the free throw line. He also had two assists.
Returning All-CCAA Second Team selection Sterling McClanahan turned in 13 points and two steals.
Ryan Roth provided 11 points, five steals, and three rebounds in his UC Merced debut. His five steals are the most by any Bobcat in a season-opener and he is one of eleven Bobcats all-time in program-history with at least five steals in a game.
Will Smith III added 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals in his first game with the Bobcats.
Six other Bobcats scored at least six points in an all-around effort and 15 Bobcats scored overall. Jon Taylor was one of those Bobcats with six points and the point guard added a game-high nine rebounds, a career-high seven on the offensive glass.
Charlie Kosta and CJ Bellamy were key in the Bobcats program-record 24 steals and each had four in their UC Merced debut.
Other notables include seven rebounds and three assists from Vincent Jackson, three assists from Kosta, two steals and a career-high two blocks from Cyprus Graham, and five rebounds and two blocks from Ryan Bolton Jr.
Monday night's game had seven lead changes and six ties in the first ten minutes of play before the Bobcats started to create separation. A Bolton Jr. dunk with 9:38 left in the first half broke a 25-25 tie and marked the final lead change of the game. Head coach Gary Stewart's team outscored PUC 27-14 the rest of the half to garner a 52-39 lead at intermission.
UC Merced's lead ballooned to 20 points just over three minutes into the second half with buckets on three straight possessions, capped by a Kosta field goal in the paint. Shortly after, the Bobcats exploded on a 25-6 run over a six-minute stretch to go up by a game-high 38 points, leading 93-55 with 8:54 to go. Nine different Bobcats scored in the run, including McClanahan and Jaden Hubbard knocking down a three-pointer.
The Bobcats reached 100 points for the fifth time in program history with 3:38 to go when Rohan Sheemar made his first shot in a UC Merced uniform. Bolton Jr. and Brown got the Bobcats to 104 points in the rout.
All 16 Bobcats played in the season opener. Brown, Gerald Perry Jr., and Braulio Barreto-Ramos made their collegiate debut. Roth, Kosta, Jackson, Sheemar, and Javi Sidhu made their NCAA debut. Smith III, Bellamy, and Bolton Jr., made their Bobcats debut. UC Merced has five returners and eleven newcomers.
Up next, UC Merced will host UC Santa Cruz on Thursday, November 12 at 7:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
Head coach Gary Stewart on the first 40 minutes of the season:
"From a coaching standpoint, there wasn't a whole lot to like to be honest with you. We practiced better, we played better in our exhibition games. We were completely discombobulated to be honest with you. Sometimes you have a plan and it goes awry when the game starts, and that's kind of the way things went tonight for us. But we had some good plays and some individual effort plays, but we're not going to beat the teams in our conference if we continue to give up the kind of opportunities we gave up tonight. 32 free throws, we just sent them to the line way too much. Didn't stand in front of the ball, didn't rebound the ball. It's just really frustrating, to be honest with you."
Stewart on freshman Kyle Brown:
"Well, he's multi-dimensional and he's a really, really talented guy offensively. He has a really good feel for the game. Shoots it on all three levels, you saw that he could put the ball on the floor, he's got everything in his kit. He's got the floater, he shoots a three, he can finish at the rim. He's explosive off the bounce. He's got a good size and difficult for matchups. So he's too big for smaller guards and can go by some bigger folks. So we're lucky to have him. He's a talented individual."
Stewart on creating separation:
"Well, the plan is just to stay after it possession by possession by possession. We got a steal and a score, steal and a score, and we were able to get a little bit of separation. But again, we're up 36 with 10 minutes left and then we don't close the game out very well. So again, searching for some positives right now, I'll go back and look at the tape and that'll be a painful experience. But we need to learn from it and we need to grow and grow fast. We've got a good program in Santa Cruz coming in here on Thursday and we're going to have to play much better moving forward."
"I'd be remiss if I didn't mention our women's soccer team. First ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Tournament. We will absolutely be watching. They are fun to watch."
