Riverside, Calif. - The Golden Eagles men's basketball team pushed their Cal Pac record to 2-3 (2-16 overall), with an 85-74 win over the University of California – Merced, on Saturday night. La Sierra had four players in scored in double figures led by Isaiah Hawkins who finished with 23 points, including 3-of-4 from the 3-point line.
After Merced knocked down their opening 3-point shot of the game, the Golden Eagles led for the majority of the first half. A 3-point field goal by Hawkins gave La Sierra an 18-11 lead, five minutes into the game. Over the next four minutes, the Bobcats outscored the Golden Eagles 8-2, pulling within 20-19. But once again, the Golden Eagles answered with a run of their own, to push their lead back to seven points, 27-20.
With 7:29 remaining in the first half, Robert Looper's lay-in pushed the lead to 31-23, the largest lead of the half, for the Golden Eagles. But a timely 13-2 run, by the Bobcats, quickly erased La Sierra's advantage, giving Merced a 36-33 lead. It was a lead they would take into the half (44-41).
In the second half, a determined Golden Eagles squad dominated from start to finish. After the Bobcats shot 15-for-30 (50%) in the first half, La Sierra held Merced to just 11-for-35 (31%) in the second half. But the story of the game for the Golden Eagles has to be their success at the free throw line. It is a part of the game that has plagued the team during the season, but tonight can be viewed as a big reason they walked off the court with a win. La Sierra converted on 24-of-27 attempts from the free throw line, including 15-of 16 in the second half alone.
The team also capitalized on 14 steals, while collecting 14 assists on 29 made field goals. The Golden Eagles regained the lead in the early minutes of the second half and never looked back, controlling the play for the majority of the final 15 minutes.
Joining Hawkins in double figures were Andre Marquez who scored 18 points, Robert Looper (14 points), and Isaac Deese (10 points). Guard CJ Goldsmith led the team with six rebounds, while four different players each added five rebounds of their own (Hawkins, Kevin Batiste, Courtland Wharton, and Lance Jones).
The men's basketball team will host two more conference games this weekend, their final conference home games of the season, starting with California State University-Maritime, on Thursday night. The Golden Eagles will also host Simpson University this Saturday night.
