Jan. 14, 2010

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Dominic Calegari tied a career-high with 28 points, and Mark Payne added 23 as UC Davis held off UC Irvine, 79-77, Thursday night in a Big West Conference men's basketball game at The Pavilion. Calegari went a perfect 10-10 from the field and became the 16th Aggie to score 1,000 career points. Payne returned to the lineup after missing three straight games and went 14-for-16 from the free throw line.

The win improved UC Davis to 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the Big West. Eric Wise led UC Irvine with 25 points and eight rebounds as the Anteaters fell to 8-9 overall and 2-3 in the Big West. The game featured 17 lead changes and 10 ties. UC Davis built a 13-point lead early in the second half only to see UC Irvine storm back and eventually take a two-point lead.

Calegari scored 21 points in the second half while he and Payne combined to score 33 of the team's 41 second-half points. Calegari was playing is his 100th career game and became the first Aggie to surpass 1,000 points since Vince Oliver did it a year ago. It was the sixth time this season the Aggie senior scored 20 or more points.

"My vocabulary is not extensive enough to describe what I saw out there tonight. It's one of the finest performances I've seen from a kid wearing our uniform," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We were very fortunate to have (Dominic) tonight."

UC Davis, playing before a season-high 2,438 fans at The Pavilion, shot a blistering 73 percent in the second half and finished 53 percent for the game. At the line, UC Davis made 25 of its 32 attempts including a 17-for-19 effort in the second half. The Aggies also committed a season-low eight turnovers.

"Tonight was a great college game," said Stewart. "Whether you're a fan, a participant, a coach or announcer, it was a great game to be a part of. We got a huge boost from the students. They were absolutely amazing, and that greatly aided us, especially at the end of the game."

The first half featured 13 lead changes with the largest lead being a four-point advantage by UC Irvine on two separate occasions. Calegari wasted little time reaching the 1,000-point mark by scoring his second bucket at the 17:13 mark to give UC Davis a 6-5 lead.

The Anteaters opened up a 17-13 lead before the Aggies erased the deficit with five straight points. Julian Welch capped off the burst with a basket at the 11:44 mark to make it 18-17. A three-pointer by Jelani Floyd later in the half gave UC Davis a 27-24 lead, its largest of the period.

UCI countered with a 7-0 run to regain a four-point lead with 3:19 left in the half. The Aggies quickly responded with a 6-0 run. Payne converted a three-point play on a put-back layup followed by a Welch three-pointer to give UC Davis a 33-31 lead.

Payne scored 11 points in the half, including a three-pointer with three seconds remaining to give the Aggies a 38-36 halftime lead.

Calegari and Payne combined to fuel a 17-6 run to start the second half. Calegari scored nine points, and Payne added six as the Aggies opened up a 55-42 lead with 14:54 remaining. UC Davis led 60-50 before UC Irvine went on a 15-4 run. A layup by Michael Hunter with 6:45 remaining put the Anteaters in front 65-64.

The Aggies trailed 70-68 with four minutes left but used a 7-0 run to reclaim the lead for good. A bucket by Ryan Howley tied it, and a layup by Calegari made it 72-70 with 3:09 left. Joe Harden followed with a jumper at the 2:35 mark, and a free throw by Calegari with just under two minutes left made it 75-70.

UC Irvine pulled within 75-74 on a layup by Zack Atkinson with 27 seconds remaining, but the Aggies clinched the win at the line as Payne went 4-for-4 in the final 21 seconds. Payne's 14 points at the line set a new career-high for the junior.

Harden finished with 10 points, and Floyd tossed in six.

The win was the fourth straight for the Aggies against the Anteaters.

UC Davis is next in action on Jan. 23 when it plays at Pacific in a game that will be televised on ESPNU.