The Benedictine Men's Basketball team faced a 65-73 defeat against UC Merced on Saturday night.
 
Deven Franks initiated BenU's scoring with a jumper, and the teams exchanged the lead until approximately the 10-minute mark when Merced surged ahead by 3. A 6-point run by Merced was interrupted by Damian Zivak's 3-pointer. Despite Zivak's effort, UC Merced maintained their lead, concluding the first half with a score of 23-33.
 
In the second half, the Redhawks made a comeback by sinking several threes, narrowing Merced's lead to 8. However, UC Merced responded by reclaiming and extending their lead to 18 points. Benedictine fought hard to chip away at Merced's lead, but they couldn't bring it under double digits until a last-second dunk by Jamaal Wright. The game concluded with BenU falling to UC Merced with a final score of 65-73.
 
Key Players:

• Damian Zivak delivered an impressive performance with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist.
• Eric Norton contributed 12 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 steal.
• Deven Franks scored 10 points, 1 assist, and achieved a season-high of 8 rebounds.

 
Looking ahead, the Redhawks will return home next Thursday to face Pacific Union College at 7 PM.