March 4, 2006

Final Stats

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UC Riverside (5-22) overcame a 10-point deficit with less than three minutes left in regulation and eventually claimed a 94-87 overtime victory over UC Davis Saturday afternoon at the Student Rec Center. The game was the last of the season for the Aggies, who had just seven players available for the game and played the final 7:23 of the game with five. Two Highlanders scored 30 or more points, with Larry Cunningham leading all scorers with 33 points. Steve Williams added 30. For UC Davis (8-20), Kyle Brucculeri led the way with 26 points. Phil Rasmussen, in his final collegiate game, finished with 14 points and five rebounds.

Rommel Marentez scored 17 points, and David Carter finished with 16. Carter shot 10-for-13 from the line while the Aggies as a team were 29-for-39. UCR's Larry Cunningham, Williams and Rickey Porter each made five three-pointers.

A ragged first half featured a combined 21 fouls and 25 free throw attempts. The Aggies made the most of their opportunities, converting 12 of 13 from the line. Larry Cunningham scored 18 points in the first half alone, including the first nine for the Highlanders. It was UC Davis, though, that had the early momentum. After UCR jumped out to 6-4 lead, UC Davis responded with a 9-0 run. The burst included a Michael Bone dunk, a three-pointer by Marentez and a jumper by Thomas Juillerat that made it 13-6 at the 15:05 mark. Juillerat finished the day with eight points before following out with 4:57 left in regulation.

UC Davis held onto the lead until a Steve Williams three-pointer with 9:44 left put UCR on top 25-22. The Aggies regained the lead at the 3:16 mark on a three by Brucculeri that made it 31-30. There were six more lead changes before the Aggies went to the locker room with a 38-37 lead.

The start of the second half belonged to the Aggies as they opened with a 13-0 run and led 51-37. Eight of those points came from Brucculeri who capped off the run with a 2-for-3 effort from the line with 15:46 left in the game. Back-to-back threes by Williams pulled the Highlanders within eight, but the Aggies pushed the lead back up to 14 on a fast break layup by Carter.

UC Riverside managed to get as close as five points at the 6:59 mark before UC Davis pushed the lead back to 11 with 4:43 to play. The Aggies still maintained a 78-68 lead with under three minutes to play.

With 2:49 remaining. UC Riverside (5-22) began its rally on a David Misko bucket. In its next possession, Rasmussen fouled out which allowed Misko to go 2-for-2 from the line. At that point, the Aggies had no reserves available for the remainder of the game. Three-pointers by Ricky Porter sandwiched around a Brucculeri free throw made it 80-78 with 1:15 left. UCR completed the run on a Porter lay-up with 18 seconds left. A long three-point attempt by Bruccleri with four seconds left missed, sending the game into overtime.

In the extra period, Larry Cunningham scored seven straight points for the Highlanders as they built a 91-85 lead with 1:31 left. Williams helped seal the win, going 3-for-4 from the line in the final 40 seconds.

UC Riverside shot 53 percent from the field, and 15 of its 33 field goals were from long range. The Aggies shot 46 percent and outscored the Highlanders 29-13 from the line.

Rasmussen ended his collegiate career with a total of 729 points and 417 rebounds.

The season completes the third year of a four-year reclassifying process for UC Davis as it continues its transition from Division II to Division I. The Aggies will play one more season as a provisional member of Division I before becoming an official member of the Big West Conference in 2007-08.