Samantha James sets mark as Merced College cruises in basketball

Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry might not have been the hottest sharpshooters around on Saturday night.

While the “Splash Brothers” were putting on a show at the NBA Three-point Contest, Samantha James was lighting up Don Reid Court.

The Merced College freshman guard drilled a school-record nine three-pointers en route to a career-high 29 points. James was more than the difference in the game as the Lady Devils cruised to a 63-48 victory over Reedley. The monster night busted James out of a mini-shooting slump, as she had made just seven three-pointers since Dec. 12.

The nine threes broke Kelsey Lemasney’s record of eight set in 2012-13.

Anntranetta Stickman finished with 11 points for MC (14-12, 6-4 Central Valley Conference), and TaJaheray McMahan and Jovanah Arrington each chipped in nine.

UC Merced 84, Pacific Union 56 in Angwin – Christina Castro is starting to find her stroke for the Bobcats. The 2015 Cal Pac Freshman of the Year was slowed early by injury, but she seems to be getting her shooting legs back.

Castro led six Merced players in double-digit scoring with a team-high 15 points. Mia Shannon (12 points, 13 rebounds) and Brittany Martinez (10 points, eight rebounds, four blocks) also had big nights for the Bobcats (8-14, 7-0 Cal Pac).

Men’s basketball

Reedley 92, Merced College 88 in Merced – A dramatic 22-point comeback by the Blue Devils went for naught as the Tigers eked out a victory at Don Reid Court.

Anthony Nolen led the charge, pouring in a career-high 36 points. Jose Gonzales chipped in 16 points as MC fell to 2-21 overall and 0-10 in the CVC.

Pacific Union 78, UC Merced 77 in Angwin – The Bobcats thought they had pulled out a huge road win on Branson Garcia’s clutch three-pointer with 25 seconds to play. A last-second shot by the Pioneers dealt UC Merced’s Cal Pac tournament hopes a crushing blow, however.

Matt Laflin paced UCM (8-12, 4-6 Cal Pac) with 23 points. The Bobcats are tied for fifth in the conference standings, one game back of the fourth and final spot in the Cal Pac tournament with two games to play.

Baseball

Mission 9, Merced College 7 (10) in Merced – The Blue Devils’ bullpen woes to start the season continued as it squandered a three-run lead in the seventh, and Merced fell in extra innings.

Darren Trainor (2 for 5, 3 RBIs) doubled and homered, and Alex Pallios added a two-run shot as MC (1-4) built a 7-4 lead behind six solid innings from starter Ryan Sanchez.

Men’s volleyball

UC Merced 3, Cal Lutheran 2 in Thousand Oaks – With top hitter Cole Smith sidelined by an injury, middle blocker Samuel Hala’ufia picked up the slack with a team-high 15 kills and two digs as the Bobcats pulled out a 25-21, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 17-15 victory.

Matthew Lostetter and Tyler Cobian combined for 21 kills as UC Merced improved to 2-5.

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 4:12 PM with the headline "Samantha James sets mark as Merced College cruises in basketball."