Mesa, Ariz.- In the first upset of the Cal Pac Conference Championship, the Bobcats of UC Merced had a late game point surge to give them the edge over the #1 University of Antelope Valley by a score of 60-57. 

Top-seeded Antelope Valley was given problems by UC Merced out the gates, and at the first media timeout with 11:33 left to go in the first, the two squads were tied at 11. Kingsley Obiorah, the newly crowned Defender of the Year in the Cal Pac, showed exactly why he was crowned defensive king, recording three blocks in the first seven minutes.

Scoring jumped in both quality and quantity, as the team's saw offense take over in the second part of the first half. However, though put under intense pressure, the Pioneers never gave the Bobcats the lead at any point after the ten minute mark, and held a four-point lead going into the break.

The starting five for the Pioneers combined for 32 of the team's 34 points, as the 2022-2023 Cal Pac Player of the Year, Michael Hayes, tacked on seven points on 3-7 shooting. As a team, Antelope Valley shot 42.9% from the field and 45.5% from deep; the quality shots were a massive key to the halftime lead.

All-Conference First Teamer Mason Westlake starred for the Bobcats with 14 points in the first half on 4-10 shooting. Obiorah had nine points with eight rebounds, five of which being key offensive boards. UC Merced, while looking at the deficit, also turned the ball over at a clip twice as much as the Pioneers in the first half, a key for the Kevin Pham-coached Bobcats entering the second half.

But the senior duo of Westlake and Obiorah weren't happy with ending their college careers without giving the Bobcats the chance at their first ever NAIA National Tournament appearance. And it showed after halftime; the duo went ballistic out of the break.

Westlake came out and made back-to-back jumpers, a mid-range bucket and a deep three, then capped off a crazy four-minute stretch with a second mid-range conversion. Obiorah had three rebounds, two blocks and an assist in the first six minutes, with the last block forcing a timeout to be called by Pioneer coach Jordan Mast. At the time of the timeout, UC Merced led by four.

UAV's struggle the entire first half was being dominated on the glass by the Merced big men, and that did not change in the second half. At the eight minute mark of the second half, the Bobcats led the battle on the offensive glass by a whopping 18-4. Even though the Bobcats struggled with turning the ball over, their obliteration of the Pioneers in rebounds entirely made up for it.

The teams battled strong back and forth; Obiorah continued the dominance down low with rebounds and blocks, while the team scoring for the Pioneers kept them well in the fight. The two squads entered the final minute tied at 55.

UC Merced let the clock run as long as they could, and Chris Bramah took the ball to the rack for the clutch lay-in with 29 seconds to go. The Pioneers took the ball back, and a foul from Obiorah sent Elias Ezenekwe to the line, needing to make the shots from the charity stripe.

Ezenekwe not only proceeded to miss the first, but the second as well, forcing the Pioneers to foul the Bobcats' Georgie Nze. Nze converted both free throws, and the Pioneers stared up at a four-point deficit with just mere seconds to go.

The Pioneers got one last chance with 2.1 seconds to go down three, but the jumper from Jordan Webster didn't fall, even though it was from inside the three-point line. The giant had been slayed; UAV entered the game with just a single regular season loss, yet exited the conference tournament after only one game.

Westlake finished with the game-high 24, while Obiorah stuffed the stat sheet; totalling 12 points, 15 rebounds (nine of which offensive), four assists, and a Cal Pac Conference and personal season-high seven blocks. The Bobcats completed the upset, largely in part to winning the battle on the glass 48-31.

Antelope Valley rode their starters to the depths, with the starting five accounting for 55 of their 57 points. Hayes finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while Levontay Ott tallied 10 points, five rebounds and four assists.The Bobcats will take on the winner of #2 Saint Katherine and #3 Westcliff in the Cal Pac Championship Game tomorrow, with the winner of the matchup moving on to the NAIA National Tournament. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. AST in Fieldhouse C at Bell Bank Park.