Nov. 28, 2006

Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. - Forward Lawrence Hill scored 20 points and grabbed 11 reboundson Tuesday night while guard Anthony Goods hit four three-pointers and scored 18 points as host Stanford shot 58 percent from the field to post an 84-72 nonconference men's basketball win over UC Davis at Maples Pavilion.

UC Davis, playing its sixth straight game on the road to open the season, dropped to 0-6 while the Cardinal improved to 5-1. Guard Vince Oliver scored 20 points to lead the Aggies who trailed by 27 points midway through the second half but rallied to within 10 points with just under two minutes to play.

Guard Rommel Marentez added 11 points for UC Davis while Thomas Juillerat and Jesse Lopez Low each had 10. Forward Fred Washington scored 14 points for Stanford and Taj Finger had 11.

UC Davis committed 27 turnovers in the game, including 18 in the first half when it fell behind 41-29 at the break.

"We obviously can't turn the ball over on the road against anybody 18 times, and obviously with an opponent like Stanford," said Aggie coach Gary Stewart. "(It) put our backs against the wall."

The teams were meeting for the third time in the past three years with Stanford winning both times on its home court. The Aggies won the middle game, a 64-58 victory at The Pavilion last year that gave them their first win after an 0-4 start.

UC Davis was hoping for the same kind of result on Tuesday night, trying to pick up its first victory after an 0-5 start. The Aggies scored the first points of the game on a three-point play by Lopez Low but Stanford used a 13-0 run to take control of the game at 13-3 with 14:54 left in the first half.

UC Davis trailed 31-15 before halftime, but a 14-4 surge highlighted by seven points from Oliver got the Aggies to within striking distance at 35-29 with 1:30 left in the half. Stanford scored the final six points before intermission, including a tip-in by Hill just before the buzzer to lead by 12 points at the break.

The Aggies were within 11 points on three occasions in the second half but Stanford was up 52-39 with 14:36 to go before scoring 18 of the next 22 points to lead 70-43 with 9:05 to play. UC Davis cut the lead by seven points four times over the next four minutes before a 10-0 run made it 77-67 with 1:57 to go. Four different Aggies scored in the stretch, including four points coming from Oliver. However, Goods hit a three-pointer with 1:47 left to quell the rally.

Oliver's three-pointer with 22 seconds left got UC Davis to 82-72 before guard Mitch Johnson had the final basket for the Cardinal.

UC Davis shot 43.6 percent from the field and outrebounded the Cardinal 34-31. Stanford made 32 of 55 shot attempts, shooting 58.2 percent. The Cardinal also had 21 assists, led by six from Washington.

The Aggies continue to gain experience with their new up-tempo attack and Stewart is confident the team will continue to progress as they become more comfortable with the system.

"They're trying to do the right thing and it will come," said Stewart. "They can see where they can be successful and it will come. Rome wasn't built in a day. If it was that easy to just change a system and step on a floor then everybody that struggled would do that."

UC Davis will look to get into the win column when it hosts its home opener on Saturday at 7 p.m. against Jackson State at The Pavilion.