UC Davis Opens Big West Play On Monday

Jan. 4, 2009

DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's basketball team will take on Cal State Northridge Monday night in its Big West Conference opener. The two teams are scheduled to square off at The Matadome in Northridge at 7:05 p.m. The game can be heard live on KFSG 1690-AM as well as at www.ucdavisaggies.com. While the Aggies will be playing their first Big West game, it'll be the third such contest for the Matadors.

UC Davis (5-8) is coming off a dominating effort, particularly on the defensive end, in a 72-41 victory over Dartmouth on Dec. 30 at home. 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 with a season-high 17 points. Vince Oliver added 15, and Joe Harden scored 10. Nathan Clark came off the bench to score a career-high nine points. UC Davis used a 17-0 run in the second half to help pull away from Dartmouth. The 41 points were the fewest by an Aggie opponent in nearly five years.

Cal State Northridge enters the game 4-8 overall and 1-1 in the Big West. The Matadors are coming off an 84-78 overtime loss at home to Pacific on Friday. That followed a 90-64 win at Cal State Fullerton last Monday. Overall, CSUN has won three of its past five after starting the season 1-6. Deon Tresvant leads the team with 13.1ppg, and Tremaine Townsend is second with 11.5 points and a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game.

Cal State Northridge leads the all-time series 13-6. The Matadors won both games last season and have won seven of the past eight overall. CSUN is 8-1 against UC Davis at The Matadome, including a five-game winning streak.

Monday's game will be the first of three in a span of six days for the Aggies, who return home to host UC Riverside on Thursday and Long Beach State on Saturday. The LBSU game will air live on Comcast SportsNet.

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