Feb. 12, 2009
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Joe Harden scored a career-high 24 points to lead the UC Davis men's basketball team to an 85-76 victory over UC Irvine Thursday night in a Big West Conference game at The Pavilion. Mark Payne added 14 points as five Aggies finished in double-figures. UC Davis shot 28-for-30 from the free throw line, including 21-for-22 in the second half.
The win improves UC Davis to 11-13 overall and 6-5 in the Big West while UC Irvine dropped to 8-16 and 5-6 in the conference. Michael Hunter led the Anteaters with 22 points. Eric Wise added 18.
UC Davis trailed by six points early on before using a 10-0 run to build a 12-8 lead five minutes into the game. The Aggies increased the lead to 36-28 before settling for a 38-32 halftime advantage. Much of that success was due to 11 first-half points by Kyle Brucculeri off the bench. The senior, who did all of his scoring in the first half, went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc and 4-for-4 overall.
The lead grew to 43-36 before UC Irvine ran off nine straight points to make it 45-43 with just under 15 minutes left in the game. UC Davis responded with a 13-0 run over the next four minutes. Todd Lowenthal started it with one of two threes on the night, and Harden scored four of his 14 second-half points during the stretch. The run gave the Aggies a 56-45 lead with 10:47 remaining.
UCI chipped away and closed within 65-64 at the 3:37 mark after Hunter went 1-for-2 from the line. The Aggies would push the lead back to 68-64 in their next possession on a three-pointer by Dominic Calegari. The junior finished the night with 12 points, including two of the Aggies' nine treys.
From that point, UC Davis would close the game 17-for-18 from the line. UC Irvine would get as close as 72-70 with 1:50 remaining, but the Aggies outscored the Anteaters 13-6 the rest of the way.
Vince Oliver finished with 10 points as he extended his streak of games in double-figures to 12. Lowenthal scored six points, and Michael Boone also provided bench scoring with four points to go along with two blocks.
UC Davis shot 51 percent from the field compared to 43 percent for UCI. The Aggies held a 33-28 edge in rebounding.
UC Davis closes out its two-game homestand Saturday when it hosts Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.
