MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team came up just short of a Senior Day win, falling 78-75 to Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday afternoon inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (10-14, 8-12) went toe to toe with NCAA Tournament probable CSUDH, leading for approximately 15 minutes in the second half and by two points with a minute to go. However, CSUDH buried a corner three-pointer with 55 seconds left and came away with a defensive stop at the other end to get the basketball back with the shot clock off, leading 76-75. After CSUDH broke free for fastbreak bucket, the Bobcats had 23 seconds to try and force overtime but came up empty on a couple three-point attempts.
Senior Pawllos Habtom led the Bobcats with 22 points, four assists, three steals, and three rebounds. Saturday marked his second 20-point game of the year and fifth game with at least three steals.
Jaden Hubbard posted his third 20-point game of the year and extended his double figure scoring streak to a career-long five games, finishing with 21 points on the day. He hit three three-pointers, putting him at 45 triples on the year which is the most by any Bobcats freshman since Mason Westlake in 2018-19. Hubbard also grabbed five rebounds.
Cyprus Graham added 15 points on 57% (4-7) to go along with six rebounds. He was two-of-three from beyond the arc and five-of-six at the charity stripe.
Elijah Charles finished with 12 points, eight rebounds, a block, and a steal. The senior scored eight of his 12 points at the free throw line and was two-of-three from the field.
Jon Taylor had five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Khoi Nguyen earned his first career start.
Myles Haynes blocked a career-high four shots. With his defensive efforts, he moved ahead of Ryan Edwards and into a tie with Matt Laflin for seventh in program history with 39 career blocks.
The game was back and forth throughout and featured ten ties and four lead changes, and no team ever led by double digits. There were five lead changes in the first six minutes, with the last early tie being at 11-11 after a Charles basket.
CSUDH led 21-20 midway through the first half before bursting ahead with an 8-0 run over the next 90 seconds to go up 29-20, marking the biggest lead of the game.
The Bobcats were held scoreless for a three-minute stretch until Graham buried a three-pointer to make it a two-possession game with six minutes to go in the opening act. UC Merced would trail 37-29 inside three minutes before a 5-0 spurt to finish the half. It was 37-34 CSUDH in front at intermission.
UC Merced went on a 10-0 run over the first three minutes to start the second half to grab its biggest lead of the game, 44-37. Hubbard had five in the spurt, including a three-pointer. Habtom had a steal and score at the peak of the run. Though the lead didn't grow, the Bobcats held the Toros without a field goal for the first four and a half minutes of the second half.
The Bobcats led 56-50 at the 12-minute mark but a lead change occurred a few minutes later as the Toros used an 8-1 push to go up 58-57. UC Merced responded at the foul line, making six-of-eight free throws unanswered to retake a two-possession lead at 63-58 inside of eight minutes. Graham and Hubbard triples then had the Bobcats up 69-62 at the six-minute mark.
Later on, the game was tied 71-71 and 73-73. A pair of Habtom free throws made it 75-73 in favor of the Bobcats with two to play. However, Habtom's free throws marked the Bobcats final points of the day.
Possessions were limited and the Toros got three straight defensive stops partnered with Luke Lin's heroics, the corner three-pointer for the lead and breakaway layup with the shot clock off to pull off the win.
UC Merced was unable to force overtime, falling 78-75.
Despite the loss, UC Merced made a season-high 24 free throws and won the rebounding battle (35-25) and turnover battle (14-11).
The Bobcats were without Sterling McClanahan for the second straight game.
Up next, UC Merced will travel to San Francisco State to play the Gators on Thursday, February 26 at 7:30pm inside SFSU Gymnasium in San Francisco.
QUOTES
Head coach Gary Stewart on battling all game:
"Yeah, I thought the guys did an excellent job of following the game plan. You know, we really got beat up down there at their place and so we made some adjustments and the guys bought into those adjustments, we were able to execute some of those things. And I thought that kept us in the game."
Stewart on Habtom's 20-point effort on Senior Day:
"Pawllos was terrific. He was all over the place. He plays with such passion and intensity and the will is there all the time. He plays baseline to baseline and takes on the best offensive player that they have on the perimeter. I can't speak highly enough of his written commitment and resolve."
Stewart on what he liked the most about his teams' effort:
"Well, all year long, we've been a resilient team and again that was on display. We got down against a really good opponent, and we were able to fight back, and scratch and claw and gave ourselves an opportunity. And when you're two possessions up late against a team like that, that's a good place to be. Unfortunately, we weren't able to finish it, but credit Dominguez Hills. I mean, they made every play at the end, hit some big shots, and you expect that from that type of opponent."
Stewart on defending the Toros:
"Well, the way that they play, they're a downhill team off of the on-ball, and yet the folks that are involved in the on-ball are multi-dimensional, so they give you a lot of problems. And when Luke Lin's involved, he's a three-level scorer, so If you go under the screen, he steps back and bangs a three against us. If you go over the top then he's physical enough to get into the interior defense and cause havoc there. So they present a multitude of different challenges depending on the personnel that's involved in the action that they're doing. What we tried to do is try to pack the paint as best we could and then have multiple efforts and get out to shooters and contest those. And credit them, they knocked down some three-point shots to the tune of 44% today and some of those were really tough shots, were contested. Like I said, they're a good outfit and they got a lot of places to go to get a basket."
Stewart on going into the final two games:
"Yeah, I think we'll get back and certainly dissect the tape and use it as a teaching tool to learn and get better. We'll have a tough week. There's no easy weeks in this conference. So we're back at it again at San Francisco State and then finish at senior night against the conference champions, the undefeated Cal State East Bay team. Both of those teams have our attention. We'll get back to work and finish this with the type of effort that we've demonstrated all year long. It's been a hard hat team and we kind of don't let a lot of things bother us, whether it be injuries or things that might derail somebody else in terms of their mindset. We're able to stay focused on the prize and I'm sure we'll be that way this week as we move towards Thursday against San Francisco State."
Stewart on his seniors:
"Yeah, what a special group. I just feel really, really fortunate and honored and blessed to be able to coach guys like that. They've embraced me from day one, and they're highly competitive guys, really, really intelligent, good decision makers. They've got a life of great things ahead of them. They approach it the right way. They're a joy to coach. I'm going to miss all four of them. It's going to be hard to say goodbye this time next week, the realization that I won't coach them in a collegiate game again. But again, I'm just so appreciative of everything that they've meant to not only to the program, but to the department and to the university. They've been what you dream college student athletes should be. Those guys are, whether it's community service work with Mylo and Khoi graduating in four semesters from one of the best universities in the world. It's an unbelievable accomplishment. And, Pawllos came here from a junior college and to see him progress not only as a basketball player but as an athlete is, ultra impressive. Just a really, really good group. Obviously, Eli, goes without saying what he's contributed on the floor for us from a basketball standpoint. But there's another guy that's highly intelligent. He can do a multitude of different things, whether it's play inside a gymnasium or impact the world outside of these doors and I fully expect him to do great things, as I expect all four of them, to really contribute to their communities and to society at large."
