Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker vs. Ottawa
Cal Maritime fought back from a deficit to take the lead at the half, but fall 80-78 despite four Keelhaulers scoring in double figures.
On the final day of 2017, the Keelhaulers (9-6) played their final non-conference game of the season against Ottawa University of Arizona. It was the first meeting between the two schools as Ottawa's men's basketball program is in its first year of existence, but they showed they are ready for NAIA play.
The Spirit came out hot and took 14-point lead at one point in the first half, before the Keelhaulers came storming back to take a 1-point lead into the locker room at the half. Cal Maritime's defense sparked the comeback, as the Keelhaulers forced 22 turnovers on the night while committing just 10 of their own.
"I thought they really got out in transition," Head Coach Brendan Rooney said of Ottawa. "We gotta do a better job of stopping that. And we gotta do a better job of coming out of the gates ready to go. The last couple of games that's been a problem for us."
Cal Maritime again found themselves down early in the second half, trailing by seven before cutting it to a one-possession game multiple times. The Keelhaulers had opportunities to tie or take the lead, but missed some critical free throws and couldn't force overtime as freshman Zavier Lucero layup attempt at the buzzer wouldn't go down.
Coach Rooney remained confident in his team's ability to finish games at the free throw line.
"Ironically, we shoot one of the best percentages in the country coming into the game," Rooney said. "But if you look at some of our losses, we've missed some free throws in the clutch. We have very capable guys we have the upmost confidence in, we just gotta come through."
Four Keelhaulers scored in double figures, with the Vallejo native Lucero leading the way with 19 points to go along with six rebounds. Sophomore guard Josh Hauser of Thousand Oaks, Calif. scored 16 points while going 4 of 8 from three-point range.
Senior Mike Meserole of Galt, Calif. lead the team with seven rebounds to go along with his 10 points, and Senior guard Phil Randles of Fresno, Calif. scored 15 points on the night.
The Keelahaulers generated 23 points off turnovers while the Spirit managed only eight. However, Cal Maritime was outscored in the paint 35-26 and outrebounded 44-37.
UP NEXT: The Keelhaulers host their first Cal Pac Conference game of the season on Thursday, January 4, at 7:30 p.m. against Benedictine Mesa.