Cal Maritime wins Cal Pac opener in an OT thriller

VALLEJO, Calif. – Trailing by eight points with 3:21 remaining in Thursday's Cal Pac opener at PEAC Main Gym, Cal Maritime outscored Saint Katherine, 8-2 during that timespan, capped by Lee Jones Jr.'s layup which tied the game at 56 and forced overtime — the first game for the Keelhaulers that needed an extra period this season.

Having knocked the Firebirds on their heels with the way the final three-plus minutes of regulation unfolded, CSUM wasted no time jumping out to an early four-point lead, thanks to layups on consecutive possessions by Lunden Taylor and Shawn Kelly.

On the opposite side of the court, Cal Maritime's defense did not allow USK to record its inaugural basket of OT until the 2:44 mark; the Firebirds scored their next field goal two minutes later, but they trailed the Keelhaulers by eight at that point of the game. 

Between Saint Katherine baskets, CSUM saw Miles Pennington and Taylor extend their team's lead thanks to layups on consecutive possessions, and Jones Jr. scored another four points at the line to help the Keelhaulers extend their cushion to a game-high 10 points with 51 seconds still left to play. 

With Saint Katherine now forced to foul trailing by double digits, Jones Jr. hit another three free throws, and Pennington connected on his final attempts of the night, to secure a 75-69 victory for the Keelhaulers after USK hit a three at the buzzer to trim the game's final margin from nine to six points.

Cal Maritime will look to sweep its inaugural set of Cal Pac Conference games when it returns to PEAC Main Gym for Saturday's 7:30 p.m. game against Westcliff and enters that contest with records of 1-4 overall and 1-0 against league teams. 

Saint Katherine will continue its weekend road trip through Northern California at 2-4 and 0-1. 

Taylor enjoyed his best game as a Keelhauler by connecting on 11 of 19 shots from the floor to lead all players with 25 points. He also collected a team-high seven rebounds, all on the defensive glass.

By shooting 8-for-14 overall, and 3-for-5 from three, Pennington ended his evening with 23 points; Jones Jr. made the Firebirds pay dearly for fouling him throughout the game since 10 of his 14 points were scored at the stripe.