Cal Maritime’s late season charge ends at Cal Pac Championship’s semifinal round

MERCED, Calif. – Tied at 28 with 2:32 left until halftime, No. 4-seeded Cal Maritime ended the first half of Friday's Cal Pac Conference semifinal game at Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, California, on an 8-2 run to lead top-seeded UC Merced, 36-30, at the break.

Eleven lead changes and eight ties took place throughout the night before the game approached the under-8-minute mark, that is when the Bobcats scored 10 unanswered points over 2:47 to turn a 52-50 CSUM lead into an eight-point UCM advantage with 5:32 remaining.

That was the only blemish in a near-flawless performance by the Keelhaulers in another postseason instant classic UC Merced won 70-61.

Cal Maritime started the game strong by shooting 54 percent (15 of 28) from the floor and 50 percent (5 of 10) from three-point territory in the first half, a shooting performance punctuated by the team's scoring run prior to halftime.

Led by Illyaas Rafiq who hit 5 of 7 shots from three to finish with a team-high 15 points, CSUM's bench outscored their counterparts 29-19.

As was the case with Rafiq, DeAndre Minor played a phenomenal game in his last appearance as a Keelhauler by scoring 10 points, on 4-for-5 shooting overall, and connecting on both shots at the free throw line.

Both Minor and All-Cal Pac Second Team selection Lawrence Long ended the evening with a team-high seven rebounds.

One of Jake Matteson's four field goals was earned from three as he ended the final game of the season with nine points.

By ending the regular season on a three-game win streak, Cal Maritime earned its postseason berth on the very last day of league-wide competition by beating Pacific Union inside a packed PEAC Main Gym last Saturday.

Men's basketball finished the 2024-25 campaign with a 9-16 overall and 4-6 Cal Pac record, advancing to the playoffs for the second time in the last three seasons.

UC Merced, a team that finished the regular season with an undefeated conference record, will now face No. 2 Westcliff Sunday afternoon with the Cal Pac Conference's automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament earned by the winner.