Aggies Preparing For Two-Game Road Trip

Jan. 14, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's basketball team returns to action this week with a pair of road games as it continues Big West Conference action. The Aggies first take on Cal State Fullerton Thursday before facing UC Irvine Saturday afternoon. The game with the Titans begins at 7:05 p.m. while Saturday's game tips at 1:05 p.m. Both games can be heard on KFSG 1690-AM as well as www.ucdavisaggies.com. In addition, the UC Irvine game will be televised on both Comcast SportsNet California and FSN Prime Ticket.

UC Davis enters Thursday's game with a 6-10 record overall and is 1-2 in the Big West. All three of the team's conference games have been decided by eight points or less. In fact, 10 of the Aggies' 16 games have been decided by single digits. Joe Harden leads UC Davis with 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Vince Oliver has upped his season scoring average to 13.0 points while Mark Payne is averaging 11.7. Payne is also coming off a career-high 22 points in his last outing and back-to-back double-doubles.

Cal State Fullerton enters Thursday's game 8-8 overall and 2-2 in the Big West. The Titans are coming off a road sweep of Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara, winning both games by four points. Senior Josh Akognon leads the team and the conference with 24.0 ppg. He's the reigning Big West Player of the Week and has claimed the honor three times this season. Cal State Fullerton captured the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament a year ago. The Titans are 4-1 at home this year.

UC Irvine is currently 4-11 overall and 2-1 in the Big West. The Anteaters, who host Pacific on Thursday, are coming off an 80-63 victory at Cal Poly last Saturday. Eric Wise leads UCI with 13.0 ppg. The Anteaters have won three of their past five games after opening the season 1-9.

Cal State Fullerton leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 8-1. The Titans won both games last year by an average of 21 points. The only Aggie win in the series is a 77-68 victory at home on March 3, 2007. UC Davis is 7-12 all-time against UC Irvine. The teams split their games last year with the home team winning each contest by 17 points.

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