Box Score Dec. 30, 2008
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis used a dominating effort, particularly on the defensive end, in a 72-41 victory over Dartmouth (2-9) in a non-conference men's basketball game at The Pavilion on Tuesday night. The Aggies held the Big Green to just under 28 percent shooting and forced 27 turnovers. On the other side of the ball, Mark Payne led UC Davis (5-8) with a season-high 17 points. Vince Oliver added 15, and Joe Harden scored 10. Alex Barnett led the Big Green with 14 points and finished with six of the team's 14 total field goals.
UC Davis took early control of the game by opening with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes. Following a jumper by Barnett, the Aggies put together an 8-0 run to make it 15-2 by the 13:38 mark. Dartmouth missed nine of its first 10 shots before consecutive field goals cut the lead to 17-7 with just under 12 minutes left in the half. The Aggies countered with an 8-0 blitz to push the lead to 23-7 at the 9:41 mark and led 39-18 at the break.
The Aggies shot 48 percent in the first half while the Big Green managed just 5-for-25 from the field. Barnett had all five of his team's field goals in the first half. Dartmouth would end the night 14-for-51 from the field.
The Big Green started the second half with a 10-3 run and pulled to within 42-28. At that point, UC Davis countered and put the game away with a 17-0 run. By the time the run was over, the Aggies had held the Big Green scoreless for over eight minutes and led 59-38 with 8:37 to play.
"It was a great contribution on the defensive end," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We guarded as a team, and it showed in the field goal percentage defense and turnovers forced."
In all, UC Davis shot 42 percent from the field. For the first time this season, all 13 Aggies saw action. Senior Nathan Clark came off the bench to score nine points, including a pair of three-pointers. Kyle Brucculeri also had two treys and finished with eight points. Dominic Calegari added six, and David Carter scored five.
On the boards, Payne led UC Davis with six rebounds. The sophomore also tied a season-high with five steals. The Aggies continued as one of the nation's top free-throw shooting teams by finishing 17-for-19 from the line. Payne helped the effort by going 7-for-8.
The game marked the end of a 13-game stretch for the Aggies against non-conference opponents. UC Davis is next in action Jan. 5 when it opens Big West Conference play at Cal State Northridge.
