Dec. 30, 2009

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Mark Payne scored a career-high 28 points to lead UC Davis past Whittier College, 89-53, Wednesday night in a non-conference men's basketball game at The Pavilion. Joe Harden added a double-double as all five Aggie starters finished in double-figures. UC Davis (4-8) used a 22-0 blitz midway through the first half to pull away from the Poets (4-4). It was part of a nearly 16-minute stretch at the end of the first half and beginning of the second where UC Davis outscored Whittier, 38-2.

Dominic Calegari added 13 points, and Ryan Sypkens finished with 11. Adam Malik posted 10 points while Harden added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. UC Davis shot 49 percent for the game while holding Whittier to 34 percent. The Poets shot just under 29 percent in the first half. Drew Menez led Whittier with 17 points.

The Aggies struggled early on as the Poets raced out to an 11-4 lead. UC Davis responded with a 7-0 burst that was capped off by a Payne trey to tie the game at 11-11 at the 15:04 mark. A Ryan Howley three-pointer with 13:11 to go in the half gave UC Davis its first lead at 14-13.

The turning point of the game would come with just under 12 minutes remaining in the half. A bucket by Whittier's DaMon Perry tied the game at 17-17 but would turn out to be the Poets' final field goal of the half. UC Davis went on a 22-0 run to take a 39-17 lead and finished the half with a 45-18 cushion. After starting the game 6-for-10 from the field, Whittier closed the half 0-for-11.

It was more of the same to start the second half as the Aggies opened with a 10-1 burst to take a 55-19 lead by the 15:10 mark. The field goal drought reached 16 straight misses before Menez made a three-pointer at the 16:04. UC Davis led by as many as 44 points midway through the second half. The Poets scored 21 of their 53 points in the final 9:20.

"I was pleased with the defense, particularly in the first half with a 28.6 percent field goal percentage defense," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We forced 27 turnovers and got out in transition. We were able to play people for long periods of time. All of those were things we talked about going into the game."

"Anytime you win, it's a good feeling," added Stewart. "We certainly have a lot on this film that we can go back and continue to build on. All in all, we really wanted to play better defensively, and I felt we did that for longer periods of time"

Payne entered the game leading the Big West Conference in scoring. He scored 18 points in the first half to equal the Poets' total as a team and was still outscoring Whittier with under 14 minutes to play. He finished the night 10-for-15 from the field, including two three-pointers. Payne also went 6-for-8 from the line. His previous career-high was 22 points, set most recently against Seattle on Dec. 5.

Harden's double-double was his second straight and fourth of the season. He also dished out a career-high five assists. Ryan Silva came off the bench to lead the Aggies with a career-high six assists. UC Davis also blocked 10 shots as a team with Calegari finishing with three. Harden, Malik and DeAndre Medlock each had two blocks.

UC Davis is next in action Saturday when it begins Big West play against Cal State Fullerton. The game tips at 7 p.m. at The Pavilion.