Jan. 2, 2010

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Dominic Calegari scored a game-high 20 points, and Joe Harden posted his third straight double-double to lead UC Davis to a 67-63 victory over visiting Cal State Fullerton Saturday night in the Big West Conference opener for both teams. Harden had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Ryan Silva came off the bench with 12 points on four three-pointers. Gerard Anderson led Cal State Fullerton with 13 points.

UC Davis (5-8, 1-0 Big West) played the final 16:32 without Mark Payne, who left the game due to an injury. Payne, who entered the day as the leading scorer in the Big West, had 11 points up until that point. UC Davis, which led 44-33 at the time, saw its lead trimmed to four points before pushing it back up to as much as 14. The Aggies then had to hold off a late rally by Cal State Fullerton (5-7, 0-1 Big West).

"We were aggressive defensively," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "We were committed to contesting shots and getting the backboard under control. We also had contributions from our entire roster."

Neither team led by more than two points through the first six minutes. Cal State Fullerton then used a 5-0 burst to take a 13-8 lead at the 13:34 mark of the first half. The Titans led 18-14 before UC Davis went on a 6-0 run in a little more than a minute to reclaim a two-point lead. Calegari capped off the run with a long three-pointer to make it 20-18 with 8:38 remaining.

Cal State Fullerton stopped the run with a pair of free throws by Eric Williams to even the score at 20-20. The Aggies then went on a 10-1 blitz that was started by a Calegari trey and ended with a three-pointer by Payne. That gave UC Davis a 30-21 lead with 4:38 left in the half. It was part of a stretch of nearly eight minutes in which the Aggies held the Titans without a field goal.

The Titans pulled within 31-25, but UC Davis closed the half with a 6-1 surge and led 37-26 at the break. Overall, UC Davis held Cal State Fullerton to just two field goals in the final 12:04 of the half and outscored the Titans 23-8 in the process.

UC Davis pushed the lead to 16 in the first 1:29 of the second half as Adam Malik made a three-pointer on the Aggies' first possession. Just under a minute later, Malik fed Payne for a reverse layup to put UC Davis on top 42-26 with 18:31 remaining. With the Aggies leading by 11 two minutes later, Payne left the game and did not return. The Titans were in the middle of a 12-4 run, and pulled within 46-38 at the 12:57 mark. A jumper by Aaron Thompson with 7:36 left closed the gap to 46-42.

UC Davis ended a five-minute scoring drought when Harden made a layup, and a three-pointer by Silva with 6:30 to play pushed the Aggies in front 51-42. UC Davis continued to seize momentum when Silva and Calegari later connected on back-to-back treys to make it 57-44 with 5:20 left.

UC Davis led 59-45 after another Harden bucket with 4:44 left before Cal State Fullerton went on a 17-5 run. The lead was down to 64-62 with 32 seconds to play. Calegari made two free throws with 21 seconds left to give the Aggies a 66-62 cushion. At the other end, Jacques Streeter went 1-2 from the line before Harden closed the scoring with a 1-for-2 effort of his own with 14 seconds left.

UC Davis shot 43.8 percent from the field but had 56.3 percent accuracy from beyond the arc. The Aggies went 9-for-16 from three-point range. Silva made four of his seven attempts while Calegari was a perfect 3-for-3. Malik finished with seven points. Ryan Sypkens and Jelani Floyd each dished out three assists.

Cal State Fullerton shot 45.8 percent from the field but made just six of 22 attempts from beyond the arc. The Titans committed 19 turnovers compared to 16 for the Aggies.

UC Davis concludes its homestand Monday night when it hosts Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m.