LOS ANGELES -- Cal State LA's men's basketball team took it down to the wire again and came up with its second thrilling win of the week.

The Golden Eagles, after surrendering a 3-pointer with 4.5 seconds left that tied the game, got three clutch free throws from Khemanni Davis with 0.5 seconds left to edge visiting UC Merced, 76-73, Saturday in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game in University Gym. Cal State LA (5-9, 4-4 CCAA) came into the week without any close victories, but got consecutive wins over Stanislaus State and UC Merced in games that were decided in the final second.

UC Merced (3-9, 1-7 CCAA) got a game-tying 3-pointer from Sterling McClanahan with four seconds remaining to cap a late 5-0 run that tied it at 73-73. Cal State LA had two straight inbound passes knocked out of bounds, the second time in front of the Golden Eagle bench. The third time was the charm as Davis got the ball in to Michael Pearson Jr., who got the ball back to Davis in the corner, where he was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. He calmly made all three free throws to put the finishing touches on an impressive 20-point performance that included a 6-of-9 effort overall and a 7-of-8 counting from the free-throw line. He also had a team-high seven rebounds.

Davis led three Golden Eagles in double figures. Deraje Agbaosi had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists, while Isaiah Fields had 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.

McClanahan had a game-high 26 points for UC Merced that featured a 6-of-12 performance from 3-point range, including the late game-tying basket. Elijah Charles had 19 points and eight rebounds and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the floor, while Pawlios Habtom had 15 points and eight rebounds.

Pearson Jr. had nine points and three assists for the Golden Eagles, while Donovan Vickers had six points.

Cal State LA shot 50.9 percent for the game (29-of-57) and was just 4-of-23 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles shot 60 percent in the second half. Cal State LA was 14-of-17 from the free-throw line. UC Merced shot 44.1 percent (26-of-59) and was 7-of-25 from 3-point range. The Bobcats were 14-of-21 from the free-throw line. UC Merced had a 42-27 rebounding edge, while the Golden Eagles had just eight turnovers while forcing 17.

UC Merced built its largest lead of the game, 29-23, with four minutes left in the opening half, but the Golden Eagles erased the deficit with baskets from Fields, Davis and Sam Ibeh. McClanahan gave the Bobcats a 32-29 lead in the final minute with a 3-pointer, but Davis countered with a 3-point to tie the game at halftime, 32-32.

Cal State LA scored the first seven points of the second half on a three-point play by Davis, a dunk by Agbaosi and a layup by Agbaosi and led all the way up to McClanahan's 3-pointer in the final seconds. Cal State LA led by as many as 11 points and still had an eight-point edge with 4:52 left after a basket by Agbaosi made it 65-57. 

UC Merced cut the lead to one point three times, the final time after a pair of free throws by Charles made it 69-68 with 2:10 to go.

Cal State LA then got a free throw from Vickers and a 3-pointer by Fields to extend the lead to 73-68 with 1:29 to go. McClanahan scored the next five points to tie the game in the final seconds before Davis won the game with his three free throws.

Cal State LA will return to action on Thursday with a road game at Cal State San Marcos.