Feb. 25, 2006

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Despite leading by as many as 23 points, and 21 with under 10 minutes left in the second half, Long Beach State needed overtime to defeat UC Davis, 96-92, Saturday afternoon in an emotional home finale for the Aggies at The Pavilion. Aaron Nixon led all scorers with 33 points to pace the 49ers' offense. For UC Davis, it was senior Phil Rasmussen, playing at home for the last time, who led the way with a team-high 27 points. He tied a career-high, grabbing 13 rebounds as he posted his fourth double-double of the season.

Four Aggies in all finished in double-figures with Kyle Brucculeri also posting a double-double with 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. Rommel Marentez added 18 points, and Vince Oliver finished with 13.

It looked bleak for UC Davis (8-18) for the first 30 minutes of the game as Long Beach State (14-11) seemingly had its way on the offensive end. In the first half, LBSU had an 11-0 lead before a Rasmussen layup at the 15:20 mark put UC Davis on the board.

The lead ballooned to 21 points with just under seven minutes left in the half before the Aggies went on an 11-0 run. Five different players figured in the scoring burst, which was capped off by a pair of free throws by Oliver. That pulled UC Davis within 34-24 with 4:35 left in the half. LBSU would settle for a 47-32 lead at the break.

The start of the second half was much like the first half as the 49ers opened with a 13-5 run and built a 60-37 lead with 15:48 to play. The Aggies could get no closer than 16 before a jumper by Kevin Houston at the 10:02 mark put Long Beach State up 72-51. That's when the complexion of the game changed dramatically.

UC Davis went on a 9-0 run, sparked by a pair of put-backs by Rasmussen and finished on a fast-break layup by Marentez with 6:55 left to cut it to 72-60.

After Long Beach State pushed its advantage back up to 79-65 at the 5:39 mark, it appeared it had weathered the UC Davis comeback attempt. Instead, it would be the last time the 49ers would score in regulation as the Aggies closed the half on a 14-0 run.

A Rasmussen three-pointer with 4:09 to play made it 79-70. Brucculeri followed with a put-back before another transition layup by Marentez made it 79-74 at the 3:03 mark. A three-pointer by Brucculeri 30 seconds later cut it to 79-77, and two free throws by Rasmussen with 1:13 left in regulation tied it at 79.

Nixon, who made his first 12 field goal attempts and finished 14-for-19 from the field, missed the front end of a one-and-one, but the Aggies turned the ball over on the ensuing possession. The 49ers failed to score on their next possession, giving the ball back to the Aggies with the shot clock off.

With less than 10 seconds left, Nixon stole the ball and was fouled on his way to the basket with 0.9 seconds left. He missed both free throws, sending the game into overtime.

"We finally got something to work defensively. We tried a multitude of things, and they had an answer for everything it seemed like," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart on his team's comeback.

"We were finally able to offer up some opposition and get a couple of stops, and that energized us. On the other end, just as we figured out some things defensively, we got something that we felt comfortable with on the offensive end as well."

In the extra period, Rasmussen made a three-pointer with 2:09 left to give UC Davis an 86-85 lead, its first advantage of the day. It wouldn't last long as the 49ers scored seven straight points and led 92-86 with less than a minute left. A trey by Oliver with 32 seconds remaining pulled the Aggies within 92-89, but that's as close as they would get the rest of the way.

Rasmussen was held to just five points in the first 19 minutes of the game but scored 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds in the second half. He finished 10-for-16 from the field and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc.

"He's been everything for us," said Stewart on Rasmussen. "First and foremost, he's a high-character person and an excellent student. He brings a hard hat everyday to practice. You can count on him to play to the best of his ability. He's a team-first guy, and he's been a great role model for our younger student-athletes."

UC Davis shot 46 percent for the game while Long Beach State made 51 percent of its shots. The Aggies outrebounded the 49ers, 43-39. From the line, UC Davis shot 77 percent on 20-for-26 shooting. LBSU managed just 41 percent from the line.

Mark Dawson added 16 points for Long Beach State with Jibril Hodges and Kejuan Johnson scoring 14 and 11, respectively.

The Aggies were making a bid to avenge a 77-48 loss to LBSU, Jan. 2, in Long Beach.

UC Davis is next in action March 2 when it faces Cal State Fullerton on the road. The game tips at 7:05 p.m. and can be heard on KSAC 1240-AM.