Box Score Nov. 14, 2009
Final Stats
EUGENE, Ore. - UC Davis was defeated by Oregon, 95-64, Saturday afternoon in a non-conference men's basketball game at McArthur Court. The host Ducks fought off an Aggie comeback attempt by closing the game on a 26-8 run. Dominic Calegari led UC Davis (0-2) with 13 points while Joe Harden and Mark Payne each added 12. The Aggies trailed 69-56 with 6:21 remaining before the final Oregon (2-0) push.
Oregon's Tajuan Porter led all scores with 26 points. He finished 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Oregon was helped by a 42-14 advantage on the boards and hauled in 14 offensive rebounds compared to one for UC Davis. The Ducks never trailed in the contest, which was part of the Basketball Traveler's Tip-Off Tourney. UC Davis opened the tournament Friday with a 91-73 setback to Colorado State.
"We're not discouraged in the least bit," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We've hit a bump in the road here, there's no question about it, but we've played good competition out of the gate. We wanted to test the group, and we have."
The Aggies kept things close through the midway point of the first half. A jumper by Payne at the 10:46 mark pulled UC Davis within 16-12. The Ducks responded with an 11-2 run to take a 27-14 lead with just under eight minutes left in the half. The lead grew to 18 with five minutes left before the Ducks closed the half with a 42-28 cushion.
Oregon began the second half with a 15-7 run and led 57-35 with 13:51 to play. The score was 59-37 when the Aggies put together their best stretch of the game. A 12-2 burst would pull UC Davis within 12. Calegari scored the first nine points of the run, and Julian Welch capped it off with a three-pointer at the 9:14 mark to cut the lead to 61-49. UC Davis would get within 12 one more time before the closing Duck run.
Adam Malik finished with nine points on three treys. Welch tallied eight, and Ryan Silva scored four points. UC Davis shot 51 percent from the field, including 50 percent from beyond the arc. Harden, Calegari and Welch each made two three-pointers.
"We're awfully young, and it's showing," added Stewart. "What I really like is we're trying to do the right thing, and we had some really good moments when we played very well. That's part of why I`m very excited about this team. We're going to get better and better. There's no question about that. We have a great attitude. The work ethic is good. It's just going to take a little time for us to mature."
UC Davis closes the tournament Sunday against Winston-Salem State. The Rams were defeated by Oregon, 94-43, on Friday and face Colorado State Saturday evening.
