Keelhaulers erase 16-point second-half deficit to secure berth in Sunday’s 2:30 p.m. semifinal

VALLEJO, Calif. – Pacific Union shot 60 percent overall and 57 percent from three throughout the first half of Friday's opening-round rivalry matchup at the Cal Pac Men's Basketball Championship, hosted by Cal Maritime inside PEAC Main Gym.

Trailing by as many as 16 midway through the second half, the Keelhaulers stormed back to take a 77-76 lead, thanks to Jordan Morency's layup with 2:45 left on the game. That basket capped a 31-14 scoring blitzkrieg spanning 11 minutes.

Once they took the lead, the Keelhaulers led until the final buzzer, outscoring the Pioneers 10-2 the rest of the way to secure an 87-78 win and advance to Sunday's 2:30 p.m. semifinal versus Northern New Mexico, the tournament's No. 2 seed.

The Keelhaulers entered postseason play as the Championship's No. 3 seed.

After halftime, Cal Maritime shot 44 percent from the floor, hit 16 of 21 free throws, only committed four turnovers, forced nine and outrebounded PUC by 10 in that half alone Lawrence Long led the way for his team by finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds, both game highs.

In addition to canning 7 of 12 shots overall, he scored 10 of his points at the free throw line. Jordan Morency scored 16, Micah Johnston posted 12, Nick Stone added another 11 and Luka Popovic dominated the paint by posting a career-high 10 rebounds — the first time he finished with a double-figure rebound total.