Power outage doesn’t stop Columbia

The Columbia College Claim Jumpers temporarily lost their lights, but not the game, to Merced College on Wednesday night.

Columbia withstood a late rush by Merced to win 81-71 and snap a three-game Central Valley Conference skid. The Claim Jumpers’ lead reached 51-35 with 16:48 left when the indirect lighting dimmed at Oak Pavilion.

The power outage stopped the game for about 30 minutes. When play resumed, Merced’s Jonathan Chairez connected with a three-pointer to launch a rally by the all-freshmen Blue Devils (2-22, 0-11).

Merced closed to within six points with three minutes to go when Columbia’s DeAndre Stallings hit back-to-back three-pointers to cap his 18-point night.

Mike Meserole paced Columbia (16-10, 6-5) with 20 points, followed by Stallings and Bosten Van der Veur with 18 points each and Lewayne Grant with 15. Guard Anthony Nolen led Merced with 23 points and Lee McNeill scored 12.

Columbia coach Rob Hoyt believes his team is in good shape to reach the Northern California playoffs. The Claim Jumpers will finish the regular season Saturday night at home against West Wills.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 8:57 PM with the headline "Power outage doesn’t stop Columbia."