Cal Maritime faces familiar foe in Cal Pac Championship semifinal

Tournament Bracket  |  Tournament Central  |  Directions to UC Merced

Campus Map  |  Parking Information  |  Local Restaurants 

Cal Pac Men's Basketball Championship Semifinal

#4 Cal Maritime Keelhaulers
at
#1 UC Merced Bobcats

Friday, Feb. 28 – 8 p.m.
Merced, Calif. - Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium

Video ($)
Live Stats
Semifinal Tickets
All-Session Tournament Pass

Cal Pac Basketball Championship Banquet

Thursday, Feb. 27 – 6:30 p.m.  |  Video ($)


VALLEJO, Calif. – A familiar matchup in recent seasons returns Friday night when Cal Maritime faces UC Merced in a California Pacific Conference Men's Basketball Championship showdown in Merced, California, at Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

These team met in the league playoffs in 2020 and 2022; the Bobcats won the first meeting with the Keelhaulers emerging victorious in the rematch. In 2023, a low-scoring affair took place with UCM scoring at the buzzer to defeat CSUM, 42-40.

This year's edition will feature two of the conference's hottest teams with top-seeded UC Merced, a team that sports an undefeated record in league play this year, facing a fourth-seeded Cal Maritime squad that won its last three games and peaking on both sides of the floor at the right time of the year.

Before any action takes place in Merced, the Cal Pac Basketball Championship banquet will recognize all participating men's and women's teams, in addition to announcing all-conference selections and specialty award winner for both sports.

Fans can watch the banquet stream for $5, individual games for $8, or purchase an all-tournament pass for $20.

Friday's opening round will feature two men's games with the winners squaring off Sunday afternoon at 4 p.m. for the tournament's championship and the Cal Pac's automatic berth in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament. Battling one another before Cal Maritime's semifinal is the No. 2-No. 3 matchup between Westcliff and La Sierra.

Westcliff won the Cal Pac Championship on the men's side last season.

Cal Maritime is facing a challenging situation against UC Merced since it won all but one of the 10 games played on its home floor this year. The Bobcats suffered that loss last November against then-No. 7 Montana Tech.

Basketball fans that watched CSUM compete the last few weeks witnessed a team that is clicking on offense and defense, winning the last three games by 14, 23 and nine points. Even the loss suffered prior to that three-game win streak, to Westcliff, came down to the wire with the Keelhaulers facing a chance to take the lead in the final minute before the Warriors clinched their win at the line after Cal Maritime was forced to foul.

Junior guard Cameron Brown leads UC Merced, and enters the tournament ranked second in the league in scoring, at 14.9 points per game. The Keelhaulers' offense is led by Jamal Frenchwood and Lawrence Long as the duo are responsible for 13.0 and 10.8 ppg, with the former leading the team in rebounding at 5.6 per game.

DeAndre Minor ranks third in scoring at 9.0 ppg and holds the fourth-highest overall shooting percentage (.568) among all Cal Pac players and the highest clip of anyone competing Friday night.

Nick Stone is another Keelhauler sharpshooter who has played a key role this season, his first at Cal Maritime. No freshman in the league possesses a higher success rate from three (.406) than the Sacramento native.

Friday's marquee game also features the league's top two offenses: Cal Maritime leads the league averaging 79.5 ppg with UC Merced ranked second with its per-game average of 73.4 points.