Riverside, Calif. - The Golden Eagles men's basketball team pulled out a 75-72 victory over the visiting Bobcats from the University of California – Merced. The Golden Eagles used a strong defensive effort in the second half and some timely shooting to improve to 3-1 in the Cal Pac (4-13 overall).
A strong performance by guard Gerald Williams helped lead the Golden Eagles to the narrow victory. Williams finished with an impressive line of 27 points, on 8-of-10 shooting, including a perfect 5-for-5 from the 3pt line. He was also 6-for-7 from the charity stripe, including two clutch free throws in the final 10 seconds that pushed the lead from one point to three points. In addition to his scoring, Williams also tallied a game-high eight assists along with six rebounds and one steal in the final minute that helped seal the victory.
The Bobcats who led for the majority of the game, pushed their lead to 33-24 with 4:34 to play in the first half. The Golden Eagles used a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to cut the lead to 35-33. But Merced regrouped to take a 41-35 lead into the half.
The second half proved to be a back-and-forth affair with the Bobcats answering every mini-run by La Sierra with a mini-run of their own to stay in the lead. La Sierra cut the lead to one point on multiple occasions only to see Merced answer back, but a Keenan Braden basket gave the Golden Eagles a 59-58 lead, their first lead since the opening minute of the game. The lead was short-lived as the Bobcats used a 7-0 run to re-take the lead, at 65-59, with 6:55 remaining.
Once again, La Sierra answered back with a 7-0 run of their own, to regain the lead, 66-65, with 5:08 to play. The back-and-forth continued with Merced scoring the next five points over the next minute of play to take a 70-66 lead.
Two straight three-point field goals, on subsequent possessions, by Williams and Lance Jones vaulted the Golden Eagles into the lead for good. La Sierra held the Bobcats to just two points in the final 3:45 to pick up their third conference win of the season. Merced had a shot at the buzzer to send the game into overtime that sailed off target.
Merced shot an impressive 50-percent from the field, including 48-percent (10-for-21) from the three-point line. Comparatively, the Golden Eagles shot 44-percent from the field, which includes a season-high 61-percent (11-for-18) from beyond the arc, helping them overcome their struggles from the free-throw line where they were only able to convert on 12 of their 23 attempts.
La Sierra also benefited from Merced's 18 turnovers in addition to the Golden Eagles 17 assists on 26 made baskets.
Andre Marquez pitched in with 14 points, three assists, and two rebounds, while Lance Jones tallied 11 points in the win. Keenan Braden contributed seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and a steal.
The men's basketball team will be back in action on Saturday night when they host CSU Maritime Academy. The Keelhaulers (4-0, 14-6) are the defending conference champions. They defeated La Sierra in both regular season contests last year, in addition to last year's conference semi-final match-up. Saturday's game is scheduled to tip-off at approximately 8:15pm.
