Sept. 2, 2008
2008 UC Davis Foreign Tour Archive
MONTREUX, Switzerland - Fueled by a 20-0 fourth quarter run and another big night from Vince Oliver, the UC Davis men's basketball team erased a 16-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat Monthey, 86-81, Tuesday night in an exhibition in Montreux, Switzerland. The game was the third of four games the Aggies are playing on their European Tour. Oliver scored 25 points for the second consecutive game to lead all scorers.
Neither team was able to pull away through the first two quarters as Monthey held a slim 37-34 lead at the half. The Swiss national team then created some separation in the third quarter and led 69-57 heading into the fourth quarter. Monthey built as much as a 16-point lead before the Aggies seized control of the contest with the fourth quarter blitz.
With just under three minutes to play, Mark Payne turned a steal into a breakaway dunk in front of the partisan crowd to give the Aggies their first lead of the night at 77-75. After a timeout, Dominic Calegari blocked a jumper by Monthey's Jay Anderson, creating a fast break the other way. Joe Harden turned it into a three-point play, and UC Davis upped its lead to 80-75 with 1:55 left in the game.
The Aggies put an exclamation on the come-from-behind victory on the ensuing inbounds pass. Todd Lowenthal stole the pass and found Oliver for a layup, putting the Aggies on top 82-75.
Oliver's effort came two nights after he led the Aggies with 25 points in their game against West Lyon. The Aggie senior also drew the night's toughest defensive assignment as he contained Herman Alston, who was held scoreless in the fateful fourth quarter.
"We beat a very good team tonight," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We had a tough third quarter but never stopped competing. Given the competition, the fourth quarter is the best basketball we've played in years."
Joining Oliver in double-figures against Monthey was Harden with 18 points. Payne finished with 14. David Carter scored eight points while Calegari finished with seven. Michael Boone led the Aggies with six rebounds. Payne had seven steals.
UC Davis shot 19-for-23 from the line, including a perfect 5-for-5 effort by Oliver. Harden went 7-for-10.
Patrick Zawalen led Monthey with 23 points. Alston and Jay Anderson each scored 20. The trio was held to a combined two points in the fourth quarter.
Monthey is considered the most talented team the Aggies have faced in their three exhibitions on the trip. Their final game is Thursday night against AS Monaco.
Game 3 Results
UC Davis 86, Monthey 81
Score By Periods
UC Davis 12-22-23-29-86
Monthey 13-24-32-12-81
UC Davis Scoring
Vince Oliver 25; Joe Harden 18; Mark Payne 14; David Carter 8; Dominic Calegari 7; Kyle Brucculeri 5; Ryan Silva 3; Todd Lowenthal 2; Michael Boone 2; Adam Malik 2.
