Second-half surge extends win streak to four games

VALLEJO, Calif. – Trailing 34-32 at halftime of Thursday's Cal Pac Conference game at PEAC Main Gym, Cal Maritime blew the game wide open midway through the second half, thanks to an 8-0 scoring surge that broke a score tied at 59 for good in a game the Keelhaulers won, 90-79, against Embry-Riddle.

By sweeping the season series against the Eagles, men's basketball extended its current win streak to four games, improved its overall record to 10-11 and record against conference foes to 9-5. Embry-Riddle will continue its Northern California road trip with respective records of 7-15 and 5-10.

During CSUM's game-changing scoring run, Justice Cole's free throws pushed his team ahead by two, followed by a dunk from Shawn Kelly and a three-point play by Miles Pennington that fired up the crowd and visibly shook the Eagles.

Already in the bonus by the time ERAU ended the Keelhaulers' unanswered scoring run at eight, CSUM took full advantage of their trips to the free throw line by scoring 15 of its points after halftime. By comparison, the Keelhaulers only scored eight points at the stripe before the break.  

Led by Braxton Adderly with 14, Cal Maritime's bench outscored ERAU's reserved 25-10. By ending their evening with a plus-8 overall rebound margin and seven more offensive boards, the Keelhaulers' finished with 21 second chance points — 11 more than Embry-Riddle.

Miles Pennington scored 13 of his game-high 25 points before halftime, Kelly connected on 10 of 13 shots to end the game with a career-high 23 points and Cole led his team with 10 rebounds. Combined with Adderly, the Keelhaulers showcased a combination that frustrated the Eagles all night long since their early 10-point lead ultimately morphed into a game-high 13-point deficit with 44 seconds left to play.

Men's basketball will have a brief period to enjoy this result since it will return to action in less than 24 hours when Benedictine Mesa visits PEAC Main Gym for a 7:30 p.m. conference clash.