Dec. 15, 2008

Final Stats

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Vince Oliver scored a season-high 21 points, and UC Davis shot a blistering 64 percent from the field on its way to a 79-61 victory over The Citadel in a non-conference men's basketball game in Charleston, S.C. Joe Harden added 18 points and Mark Payne scored 12 to go along with eight rebounds, eight assists and five steals. UC Davis never trailed while winning its second straight game to improve to 4-6.

The Aggies took early control of the game by leading 12-2 four minutes into the first half. The Citadel (5-5) would cut it to 15-8 with 13:26 left in the half, but that was as close as they would get the rest of the way. The Aggie defense was equally strong and would hold the Bulldogs scoreless for the nearly six minutes while building a 22-8 lead. The Citadel cut it to 34-22 before a 6-0 Aggie run made it 40-22 at the 1:38 mark. UC Davis went to the half leading 43-28.

Oliver finished the first half with 11 points and scored his first points of the second half on a three-pointer with 17:02 to play to push the lead to 52-33. The Bulldogs would only get as close as 13 points the rest of the way. The largest lead for the Aggies was 23 after a pair of Payne free throws made it 73-50 with 3:16 remaining.

UC Davis went 25-for-39 from the field, including 14-for-18 in the first half. Oliver finished 8-for-11 from the field, including a 2-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. The Aggies shot 25-for-28 from the line as Harden went a perfect 10-for-10. Payne made all six of his attempts. UC Davis entered the game second in the nation in free-throw shooting percentage.

Oliver's effort pushed the senior into 10th-place on the all-time scoring list at UC Davis. He now stands at 1,148 points.

"I thought it was as well as we've played all year," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We really executed well and our kids competed hard, and I'm really proud of them. We came out with great energy from the start."

Dominic Calegari was the fourth Aggie in double-figures with 10 points. Derek Oestreicher added six, and Kyle Brucculeri finished with five.

The Citadel was held to 41 percent shooting but struggled from beyond the arc by making just five treys in 21 attempts. Cameron Wells led the Bulldogs with 15 points.

UC Davis is next in action Wednesday night when it concludes its road trip at Presbyterian. The game tips at 4 p.m. PST and can be heard on KFSG 1690-AM as well as www.ucdavisaggies.com.