Box Score Nov. 18, 2009
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Mark Payne scored a game-high 18 points and added a career-high eight steals to lead UC Davis (2-2) to an 88-59 victory over UC Santa Cruz (0-1) Wednesday night in the Aggies' home opener at The Pavilion. UC Davis never trailed in the game while winning for the second straight game. Joe Harden and Dominic Calegari each added 16 points while Julian Welch finished with 15.
The Aggies led 18-14 just past the midway point of the first half before going on a 14-0 run. Julian Welch started it with a three-pointer, and Harden added five more points in the run. Seven of the 14 points came at the line, and a Harden layup at the 5:50 mark put UC Davis up 32-14.
UC Santa Cruz (0-1) countered with a 12-1 run and closed the gap to 33-26 with 3:25 left in the half. Calegari scored the final five Aggie points of the half, including a bucket with three seconds remaining, as UC Davis led 38-29 at the break.
UC Davis opened the second half on a 17-4 run to increase its lead to 55-33 at the 13:38 mark. A 14-0 run later in the half put the game away. Payne had two treys in the run and scored eight of the 14 points to help give the Aggies a 78-47 lead with 6:56 to play.
UC Davis was without its head coach and two players due to health reasons. Gary Stewart was not at the game due to severe flu-like symptoms. It was the first time in his 17-year head-coaching career he missed a game. As a result, assistant coach Kevin Nosek served as the acting head coach. Juniors Todd Lowenthal and Ryan Silva did not dress due to injuries.
"The Mark, Joe and Dominic trio really upped their level in the second half and got us pushing in transition and created some turnover opportunities for our defense," said Nosek. "Our defense stepped up in the first five minutes of the second half, and it just snowballed."
Payne scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half. The Aggies forced the Banana Slugs into 23 turnovers and committed 13. Welch finished with three treys while Payne and Adam Malik each had two. Ryan Sypkens added seven points.
The Aggies held a 50-32 advantage in rebounding. Calegari led the team with eight rebounds while Harden and Welch each added seven. UC Davis shot 45 percent for the game and held UCSC to 34 percent.
Ryan Matsuoka, Eric Norton and Alex Abarca each scored 10 points to lead UC Santa Cruz.
UC Davis is next in action Nov. 24 when it hosts North Dakota State at 7 p.m.
Game Notes: Gary Stewart coached the first 438 games of his 17-year career without missing a game... Dominic Calegari scored 12 straight Aggie points from the end of the first half through the beginning of the second half...Redshirt freshman Jacob Ranger made his collegiate debut after missing the first three games of the season with a high ankle sprain...Mark Payne has four three-pointers through four games after just two all of last year...The two teams met exactly two years ago when the Aggies posted a 71-49 victory on Nov. 18, 2007.
