UC Davis To Host Pacific In Big West Clash

Jan. 28, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's basketball team will close out a three-game homestand Saturday night when it hosts Pacific in a Big West Conference clash at The Pavilion at 7 p.m. Both teams are tied at 4-3 in the Big West and are among a group of three teams tied for third-place. The Aggies enter the game with four wins in their last six outings.

UC Davis (9-11) is coming off a 77-75 loss to Cal Poly on Jan. 24. Five Aggies finished in double figures, including Joe Harden with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Dominic Calegari added 15, and Kyle Brucculeri scored 13. Vince Oliver and Mark Payne posted 11 and 10 points, respectively. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for UC Davis, but the Aggies still enter Saturday's game winners of four of their past six games.

As a team, UC Davis leads the nation in free throw percentage and also leads the Big West in field goal percentage. Individually, Harden and Oliver are tied for fourth in the conference in scoring with 14.6 ppg. Payne leads the Big West in field goal percentage, including a sizzling 76.1 percent in conference games. He also leads the Big West with a 2.23 assist/turnover ratio and is 39th in the nation in that category.

Pacific enters the game 11-7 overall and is coming off a 58-36 victory over UC Santa Barbara last Saturday at home. Pacific has alternated wins and losses over the past seven games. Bryan LeDuc leads the Tigers with 11.2 points per game while Chad Troyer is averaging 10.4.

Long Beach State leads the Big West with a 5-2 record, followed by Cal State Northridge at 5-3. UC Davis, Pacific and UC Irvine are each a game behind LBSU at 4-3. The tight Big West race continues with sixth-place Cal State Fullerton (4-4) followed by UC Riverside (3-4).

Saturday's game can be heard on KFSG 1690-AM as well as www.ucdavisaggies.com.

Print Friendly Version