MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced men's basketball team tallied a season-high 21 assists and shot 55% from the floor in a convincing 83-63 win over Cal Poly Humboldt on Thursday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium. The Bobcats led by 19 points at halftime and by at least 15 points for the entire second half.
With the stellar offensive performance, the Bobcats (8-11, 6-9) have now scored 80 points in three consecutive games for the first time since January 2024. Also of note, the Bobcats 21 assists marked their most in a conference game since January 25, 2024.
Sterling McClanahan put up another star performance with 28 points and a career-high five assists. He extended his 20+-point scoring streak to four games while shooting over 50% in each of them. The CCAA Player of the Week shot 52% (12-23) tonight and cashed in four triples. Seventeen of his 28 points, and three assists, came in the second half.
Elijah Charles recorded his third consecutive double-double as he finished with 18 points and eleven rebounds. For his career, Charles is now tied with Aki Chambers for third in program history with eleven career double-doubles. The senior shot 60% (9-15) from the floor and came up with two steals.
Pawllos Habtom scored nine points and nabbed a season-high tying three steals, his second time in the last three games with three steals.
Austin Dewes had a career-high tying eight points with four slam dunks, finishing 80% (4-5) from the floor. He also grabbed three rebounds and blocked a shot.
Cyprus Graham finished with seven points, six rebounds, and a career-high tying two steals.
Jaden Hubbard scored six points to go along with a career-high tying four assists.
Jon Taylor added five points, five assists, and two steals. Taylor has three straight games with five assists.
Myles Haynes grabbed six rebounds and a blocked a shot, passing Ryan Haywood for ninth in program history with 34 career blocks.
The Bobcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead and scored on their first four possessions to go up 9-2 less than three minutes in. Hubbard scored four of the Bobcats first nine, while Taylor had two steals in the early goings. Cal Poly Humboldt responded to the Bobcats 7-0 burst with a 14-4 run over the next six minutes, taking a 14-11 lead capped by a pair of fastbreak one-handed slams. Dewes answered with a dunk of his own and then Hubbard hit a jumper to put the Bobcats back in front.
Dewes' dunk ignited a 14-2 UC Merced run that put the Bobcats up by double digits with 6:39 to go in the first half, 27-16. Graham had a breakaway one-handed dunk to officially mark the double-digit lead. He jumped the pass to have the runaway at the rim. After a Humboldt three, Graham and Taylor connected on back-to-back triples to push the lead up to 15 points at 38-23 inside of three minutes. An offensive rebound putback from Charles at the end of the half put the Bobcats up 44-25.
UC Merced's first 20-point lead of the night came when Habtom took the ball from a Lumberjack and outraced another 'Jack down the floor for a layup, 48-28 just over two minutes into the second half. The Bobcats lead was between 17-20 points for the next seven minutes before reaching a new-game-high 21 points after a McClanahan triple, making it 62-41. Cal Poly Humboldt cut the Bobcats lead to 15 points midway through the half, 64-49.
A Charles dunk had UC Merced back up 20, 71-51 with 8:43 remaining. The Bobcats lead reached as many as 23 points and it first came on another steal and score from Habtom to put the home team up 77-54 inside of five minutes.
UC Merced also led by 23 at 81-58 on their way to the 83-63 win.
Khoi Nguyen found Haynes for the Bobcats final bucket, as all nine players who took the court for the Bobcats tonight notched an assist.
UC Merced also took care of the basketball committing just ten turnovers, the second fewest in a game this year. The Bobcats held a 34/25 advantage on the boards.
Up next, UC Merced will host Chico State on Saturday, February 7 at 3:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
Quotes
Head coach Gary Stewart on how his team got it done tonight:
"I thought it was a collective effort. Defensively, we were all over the place early in the game and they shoot so well and they have so many folks that can really hurt you. So, the game plan really was to try to get to a touch on every pass and force the ball to be put on the ground. We didn't want them to penetrate, but they're a tough outfit to get a tourniquet on."
Stewart on getting contributions across the board:
"Yeah, we've got some good players and I think people tend to focus on who starts. But Austin, Cyprus, we've got some good players and the contributions that they're making are critical to our success. I'm really, really excited about the development of all of our guys. We've gotten better and that's been the mantra, we've really tried to push the envelope and really tried to focus in on the process. I know it's cliche, but we really do try to take the winning out of it and in conversation really talk about doing things well and we were able to do part of that tonight. Then there's parts we can get better at and I certainly will address that tomorrow."
Stewart on Sterling McClanahan's run:
"Yeah, he's on a heater. There's no question about that and we're riding him. I mean, some of those shots he takes are the same shots he's making in practice. He's putting in the work. That's the thing that you don't see. It's not just the practice, but he's living in the facility and shooting every chance he gets. He's really committed to improving, as are all the guys, and you see his game is elevated. For a junior college guy to come into a league like this and do what he's done in his first year is really, really exciting."
Stewart on the teams vibes right now:
"Yeah, we're excited. And again, it's one day at a time. We always talk about be where your feet are and we had a conversation about three weeks ago about joy and just be joyful for the opportunity and bring that joy to practice every day and really focus on just individual improvement, and they've taken that to heart and I credit all of them. They're a really good group to work with. I mean, it's fun to come to practice every day and they're getting better and better."
Stewart on what's ahead:
"We're just really trying to get ready for Chico State, the team that handled us pretty easily up at their place. And we've got a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. And that's really what we're thinking about right now, trying to get back into the gym and plug up some of the things that I feel like we can get better at it, some of the things that really hurt us up in Chico."
Stewart on the excitement to play Chico State:
Yeah, we're excited to play Chico. I mean, after that game, the conversations I had in the hotels with the guys weren't for women and children. I went after every single one of our players, and to their credit, they responded. We went back up to Humboldt and won on their court by double figures, a place that Humboldt doesn't lose. So that's indicative, but we're very resilient, if nothing else and that resolve is critically important to have that in your life. There's going to be ups and downs in everybody's life. But being able to battle and come back is critical."
Stewart's final remarks:
"Yeah, there's one thing I want to talk about and I'm getting choked up here. The one thing I wanted to talk about was the assists. Everybody who played tonight had an assist, and that's very, very rare. We had 21 assisted baskets tonight, we were really sharing the ball, and that's something that we can really build on."
Sterling McClanahan on his confidence right now:
"I'm playing with a lot of confidence. I just think it really comes from the work that I put in. Past couple years, I've really just been a gym rat, but mostly the past like month, I would say I've really been putting in a lot of work. I knew that I didn't have the beginning of the year that I wanted to have, so just wanted to really get in the gym every day after hours, late nights, and really just get better. And I'm playing with a lot of confidence. My teammates trust me. So it makes it easy to go out there and play my game."
McClanahan on the vibes right now:
"We're having a lot of fun. We're just really connected as a group. We just feel like we're one big unit and we're all playing for each other. We just want to see the next guy succeed and that just starts with the culture that we're trying to build over here. So it's a testament to all the coaches and down to the last guy. We're all just trying to see each other win and we love each other. So it's been great, you know what I mean, just go out every night and compete hard for each other. It's been really cool to see."
McClanahan on where tonight's scoring performance ranks for him this year:
"I think this one actually might be the highest one. Doing it here with the home crowd at the Gallo, it was amazing, you know, having the home crowd support me. All the other big games I had were on the road. So to have one here at the house, it feels really good. It's probably top two."
Austin Dewes on his game tonight:
"I'll just credit my teammates really for finding me in a position close to the basket. I'm able to just put the ball straight up."
Dewes on the current vibes:
"The first time through the first round of the league there were a lot of ups and downs. We're definitely starting to click as a group. We trust each other. It's a lot of fun."
Dewes' favorite dunk today:
"I guess I'll say the one that Jon threw me. Rim run, run the floor hard, and get rewarded for it"
Jon Taylor on his performance:
"Yeah, you know when I go out there I really just try to set up my teammates and make winning plays. We got shooters like Sterling and Jaden Hubbard and guys who can finish inside like Elijah Charles and Austin. So I'm really just trying to set them up and get the best shots for my team every possession."
Taylor on playing at the Gallo
"You know, it's great. It's good to see all the other athletes, all the other students come out and support us. It gets real loud in here. So, you know, it's fun to play at home."
