March 1, 2008

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Mark Payne posted the third triple-double in school history, and Vince Oliver surpassed 1,000 career points as UC Davis (9-20) outlasted Sacramento State, 83-77, Saturday night at The Pavilion. Payne finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, all career-highs, while Oliver had 18 points. Dominic Calegari led four Aggies in double figures with 22 points and tied a career-high with 10 rebounds. In addition, David Carter added 16 points. Sacramento State (4-23) was led by Vinnie McGhee, who finished with a game-high 24 points.

UC Davis built double-digit leads in both halves but saw Sacramento State battle back each time. The Aggies made their first six field goals and led 13-0 at the 16:28 mark of the first half. The last of those field goals was a three-pointer by Oliver, which put him over 1,000 points for his career. In all, the Aggies made 10 of their first 13 shots and led 23-9 nine minutes into the game.

Sacramento State, which missed its first five shots, battled back from that deficit. It started with a 7-0 run to cut it to 23-16 with 9:31 left in the half. UC Davis built the margin back to double-figures, and an Oliver layup at the 6:41 mark made it 30-20. From that point, the Hornets closed the half on a 16-4 run and led 36-34 at the break.

In the second half, the Hornets built a 44-42 lead after a Clark Woods' jumper at the 15:22 mark. UC Davis then went on a 14-2 run started by a Payne free throw with 15 minutes remaining. The freshman connected from beyond he arc in the next possession to give UC Davis the lead for good at 46-44. Calegari and Oliver each made three-pointers at the end of the run to make it 56-46 with 12:16 remaining.

The Hornets went back to work and ran off eight straight points and made it a two-point game two minutes later. From that point, the largest Aggie lead would only be five points until the final two minutes. A McGhee trey at the 3:07 mark made it 68-67 before UC Davis went on a 7-0 run over the next two minutes. It started with a pair of free throws by Calegari, followed by two more free throws by Payne. Calegari's three-pointer with 1:28 left gave UC Davis a 75-67 lead. It also was Payne's 10th assist, securing his triple-double.

"I really liked our competitiveness," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We fought hard, stepped to the line and made some timely free throws, and got contributions from a lot of different people."

UC Davis finished the game shooting 18-for-21 from the line. That included a 15-for-18 effort in the second half. UC Davis made its last 12 free throw attempts. Overall, the Aggies shot 57 percent from the field while holding the Hornets to 41 percent.

For Calegari, it was his first career double-double. He had 13 points and seven rebounds in the second half alone. For the game, he shot 8-for-15 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Payne also put up big numbers in the second half as he posted 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the final 20 minutes.

"Dominic goes for 22 and 10 and yet the conversation is about Mark because of the triple double," said Stewart. "Collectively, those two guys were outstanding. You can't play much better than they did."

It had been more than two years since an Aggie posted a triple-double. Thomas Juillerat was the last to do it on Jan. 28, 2006 against Cal State Fullerton, and Matt Cordova is the only other Aggie with such an accomplishment.

Oliver entered the game needing just three points to reach 1,000. He scored his first two points on a jumper at the 17:33 mark of the first half to get to 999 for his career. The trey just over a minute later put him at 1,002. He becomes the 15th player in UC Davis history to score 1,000 points.

"It's a significant milestone," said Stewart. "When you think of all of the players who have played here prior to Vince and for him to be the 15th player in school history to do that, as a junior, is quite an achievement."

Carter scored 11 of his 16 points in the second half. He made two three-pointers and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the line.

McGhee led four Hornets in double figures while leading the team with seven assists. He shot 6-for-8 from beyond the arc. Woods finished with 15, and Justin Williams scored 14. Loren Leath added 10 points.

UC Davis is next in action Thursday night when it begins a two-game Big West road trip at UC Irvine.