March 5, 2009
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Cal State Northridge scored 60 points in the second half and went on to defeat UC Davis, 99-72, Thursday night at The Pavilion. The game was the regular season finale for UC Davis, which fell to 12-18 overall and capped of a 7-9 mark in the Big West Conference. Vince Oliver led the Aggies with 13 points while CSUN's Kenny Daniels led all scorers with 24. The win kept the Matadors (15-12, 11-4) in first place in the conference.
Oliver was one of five Aggies to be honored prior to the game as part of Senior Night. Kyle Brucculeri, David Carter, Nathan Clark and Michael Boone also took part in their final game at The Pavilion. Carter finished the night with 10 points as all UC Davis starters reached double figures. Joe Harden tossed in 12 to go along with nine rebounds. Dominic Calegari posted 11 points, and Mark Payne finished with 10.
UC Davis jumped out to a 15-11 lead after five minutes. The opening burst featured 10 straight points by Oliver sandwiched between five points by Harden. The four-point advantage would turn out to be the Aggies' largest of the night.
Scoring would be become much more difficult for the remainder of the half as the Cal State Northridge outscored the Aggies, 28-19, in the final 15 minutes. The Matadors held the Aggies without a field goal in the last six minutes of the half while building a 39-34 lead at the break.
The second half started with a Carter three-point play to pull UC Davis within 39-37, but CSUN used a strong combination of defense and transition scoring to pull away. An 18-6 run made it 57-43 with 14:14 remaining. The Aggies trailed 69-59 with 9:27 to go, but a 10-1 run put the game out of reach and gave the Matadors an 82-60 lead with less than seven minutes remaining.
Cal State Northridge shot 54 percent from the field while holding UC Davis to 38 percent. The Matadors also held a 44-29 advantage on the boards.
UC Davis will next take part in the Big West Tournament next week at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Aggies' first game will be Wednesday evening. Their final seed and first round opponent will not be determined until after the rest of the conference concludes play on Saturday.
