HAYWARD, Calif. – University of California, Merced men's basketball played suffocating defense to threaten No. 2 Cal State East Bay's perfect season, but the Bobcats fell 58-51 to the CCAA Regular Season Champion on Saturday night in the season finale.
The Bobcats (10-16, 8-14) limited NCAA Division II's only undefeated team to just a .373 field goal percentage and held them without a three-pointer. Cal State East Bay's 58 points marked their fewest in a conference home game since January 12, 2023, dating back 42 games.
UC Merced was within a point inside of four minutes and had the chance to get back within a possession with under a minute to go before falling.
Pawllos Habtom led the Bobcats in his final collegiate game with 17 points and seven rebounds. Habtom shot 100% (8-8) at the foul line, becoming the first Bobcat in a conference road game since Cole Taira on February 9, 2017, to shoot 100% from the foul line with a minimum of eight attempts.
Myles Haynes finished with ten points on 71% (5-7) shooting to go along with seven rebounds and a block in his 97th and final collegiate game. His 97 games played rank ninth in program history, while his 40 career blocks are now seventh after passing Matt Laflin.
Jaden Hubbard scored eight points and was credited with a steal. He hit a three-pointer for the seventh straight game. His 46 triples this year are the ninth most by any Bobcat in a season and second most by any freshman.
Elijah Charles closed his Bobcat career with seven points, eight rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. The reigning CCAA Player of the Week finished the year all over the Bobcats single-season record books, including finishing top three in program history with 9.9 rebounds per game (1st), 158 field goals (T-2nd), 257 rebounds (3rd), and 31 blocks (T-3rd).
Austin Dewes grabbed a career-high nine rebounds. He also scored four points and blocked two shots. He finishes fifth on the program's single-season top ten blocks list with 27 on the year. He also passed Ronnie Kozak for fifth all-time with 51 career blocks.
Cyprus Graham pitched in four points and three rebounds.
Jon Taylor had a steal to give him 36 on the year, tied for tenth on the Bobcats single-season list.
The first half had six ties and five lead changes. Habtom scored the first five points of the game but the Pioneers scored the next seven for their first lead of the game. After Charles tied the game the next trip down the floor, Cal State East Bay used a 9-0 run to take 16-7 lead. The nine point lead would end up being tied for the biggest advantage of the night.
Habtom then led the Bobcats on a 14-5 run to make up the ground and pull even again, 21-21 midway through the half. He had eight points in the Bobcats push including a three-point play to tie the game. A Taylor free throw put UC Merced in front 24-23 shortly after.
The teams traded one-point leads over the next few minutes before there was a three-minute scoring drought for both squads. Cal State East Bay got back on the board with 2:43 to go, leading 29-26. Haynes tied the game 30-30 with a layup, but the Bobcats would trail 37-32 at intermission.
The Bobcats worked to overcome a seven-point deficit in the second half as Haynes cut the margin to one, 39-38, with an offensive rebound putback at the 16-minute mark. The Bobcats were also within a point at 42-41 at the 12-minute mark and down by just two inside of nine minutes, 48-46.
Cal State East Bay scored inside to go up 50-46 with 8:48 left, which marked the last field goal for either team until a Dewes second chance basket with 3:49 left. His bucket made it 50-49. However, Cal State East Bay ended their five-minute drought and it sparked a 6-0 run in a 60-second stretch to create separation in crunch time, going up 56-49 with 2:38 on the clock.
The Bobcats were then able to force back-to-back turnovers and capitalize offensively on the first one to make it a two-possession game. However, the Bobcats came up empty on offense after the second forced turnover and couldn't make up any more ground in the final minute, falling 58-51.
UC Merced's first season in the CCAA and NCAA Division II comes to a close. The Bobcats swept the season series against Cal Poly Humboldt and Stanislaus State and knocked off four other CCAA foes once, including postseason qualifier Cal State San Marcos.
Stay up to date with UC Merced men's basketball by following the team on X and Instagram at ucmercedmbb.
