March 11, 2009
Final Stats | Photo Gallery 
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Mark Payne made two free throws with 8.2 seconds left to lift UC Davis to a 69-68 come-from-behind victory over UC Irvine Wednesday night in the first round of the Big West Tournament. The Aggies trailed by nine points with 9:40 remaining. Vince Oliver led UC Davis (13-18) with a game-high 20 points while Joe Harden added 14. Michael Hunter led UC Irvine (12-19) with 16 points.
It was a fast start for the Aggies who took a 10-2 lead less than four minutes into the game. In the process, UC Davis connected on its first six field goal attempts. UC Irvine countered with a 9-1 run and pulled within 12-11 at the 14:38 mark. Neither team led by more than five points for the remainder of the half as the Aggies took a 34-32 advantage into the break.
The Anteaters controlled the first 10 minutes of the second half. It started with a 10-1 run to begin the half, and UCI led 42-35 with 17:16 remaining. The lead grew to as much as nine points on three occasions with the last coming at 52-43 with 9:40 left in the game.
At that point, the Aggies started their rally with an 8-0 burst. A Harden jumper was followed by a three-pointer from Kyle Brucculeri. Todd Lowenthal then connected from long range, and UC Davis trailed 53-52 with 8:03 left.
UCI pushed the advantage back to 59-54 after a trey by Eric Wise at the 6:52 mark. At the other end, Ryan Silva made a three before a bucket by Oliver tied the game at 59-59. The lead would end up changing hands five times in the final five minutes.
With the game tied at 64, Oliver completed a three-point play to give the Aggies a 67-64 cushion with 1:22 remaining. UCI's Kevin Bland countered with a jumper at the other end to pull the Anteaters within 67-66. A Patrick Rembert layup with 35 seconds left put UC Irvine on top 68-67.
In the Aggies' next possession, Payne was followed with 8.2 seconds remaining setting up a one-and-one situation. After a UC Irvine timeout, the sophomore made both free throws to put UC Davis in front. Hunter missed an off-balance baseline jumper as time expired.
"It was a terrific basketball game, hard-fought, and I thought both teams competed really, really well. As a basketball fan, you've got to enjoy that," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "Our kids were very resilient. It's difficult to come back in any basketball game, but in a venue like this and the stakes at the highest point, our kids really responded and executed down the stretch."
The close game featured a total of 14 lead changes and nine ties. UC Davis finished the night shooting 52 percent, and UCI shot 48 percent. Payne scored six points to go along with eight rebounds and six assists. The Aggies shot 10-for-14 from the line and committed a season-low six turnovers.
Oliver's effort moved him past the 1,500-point career milestone. He now has 1,514 points, which is third on the Aggies' all-time scoring list. Brucculeri and Dominic Calegari each scored 10 for UC Davis.
With the win, UC Davis will face No. 3 Pacific Thursday night at 6 p.m.
