Men's Basketball 11/18/2010 12:00:00 AM

UC Davis Set for Rematch vs. Boise State

Nov. 18, 2010

Live Video

Live Audio

UC DAVIS MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
UC Davis (1-3, 0-0)
vs.
Boise State (1-0)

Sunday, November 21, 2010
1 p.m. (PST) - Davis, Calif.
The Pavilion (7,100)
KFSG (1690 AM)

OPENING TIPS
- UC Davis took their first win of the season vs. the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, cruising to a 70-49 win in their home opener on Wednesday.
- The Aggies took control vs. UC Santa Cruz in the first half, when they held the Banana Slugs scoreless for the final 7:48 of the opening frame, en route to a 32-11 lead at the break.
- UC Davis is now 6-2 in home openers under head coach Gary Stewart.
- Joe Harden recorded his second double-double in as many games, tallying 16 points and 11 rebounds vs. UC Santa Cruz. Previously, he had 22 and 11 vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee.
- Mark Payne recently recorded his 1000th career point vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee, becoming the 17th player in school history to reach the milestone. Harden is not far behind, with 963 career points.
- Boise State defeated Western State in their season opener, 78-52, and will play San Diego on Friday, before playing the Aggies.
- Sunday's game will serve as the return game from last season's ESPN Bracketbuster game vs. the Broncos.
- Last season the Aggies traveled to Boise, Idaho where they took an 82-74 win.
- Boise State has a first year head coach, Leon Rice, who was previously at Gonzaga for 11 seasons, serving as the associate head coach since 2007.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Sunday's game will mark the 2nd time UC Davis and Boise State have met, with the Aggies holding a 1-0 advantage in the all-time series. UC Davis took an 82-74 win over the Broncos last season, playing on the road in an ESPN Bracketbusters game.

HEAD COACHES
Gary Stewart is in his 18th year as a head coach and his 8th season with the Aggies. He currently owns a 221-250 overall record and a 79-131 mark on the sidelines with UC Davis. Stewart was with the Aggies during all four years of the transition to Division I and is set to lead the program into their fourth year as a D1 member.

Leon Rice holds a 1-0 overall record as a head coach to start this week. Rice landed his first head coaching gig with the Broncos for this season. Coach Rice came to Boise State after spending 11 seasons with Gonzaga. Since 2007, he was the associate head coach with the Bulldogs.

BOISE STATE SCOUTING REPORT
The Broncos took a 78-52 win in their season opener vs. Western State, a Division II member school that competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Boise State finished the 2009-10 season with a 15-17 overall record and a 5-11 mark in the WAC. The Broncos lost three starters from last year's squad, but return 62 percent of the team's scoring. Boise State was picked to finish T-4th in the WAC preseason coaches' poll and 6th in the media poll.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Sunday's contest will air on KFSG (1690 AM) with Bill Herenda on the call. The broadcast will be simulcast on ucdavisaggies.com through Game Central by Stretch Internet and streamed live on Big West TV. Live stat are available via ucdavisaggies.com, with a tip time set for 1 p.m. PT.

LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies got in the win column for the first time in the 2010-11 campaign, taking a 70-49 victory over the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs. Joe Harden recorded his second double-double in as many games after 16 points and 11 rebounds, leading the way for UC Davis. Mark Payne also reached double figures for the Aggies with 13 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. Ryan Howley scored 10 points on a perfect 3 of 3 shooting, while Ryan Sypkens chipped in with 8 points off the bench.

AGGIES INK JT ADENRELE
The UC Davis men's basketball team announced Wednesday, Nov. 17 that JT Adenrele from Oakmont High School in Roseville, has signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the Aggies next fall. Adenrele, a 6-foot-6 220-pound forward, helped lead Oakmont to an impressive 25-8 overall record during the 2009-10 season. They also finished second place in their division with a 9-3 record and advanced to the section semifinals under head coach Rick Campbell. Adenrele averaged 11.4 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks per game at Oakmont as a junior. For his play in the 2009-10 season, he was awarded SFL League Honorable Mention. Adenrele also played AAU during the off season from spring through summer, under coach Ernest Taubodo with the E-Times Hoops Academy.

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Joe Harden and Mark Payne have both put together double-doubles this season, with Harden posting two consecutive in the most recent games. Throughout the season, all double-doubles by the Aggies will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

Joe Harden
UC Santa Cruz 11-17 - 16 pts./11 rebs.
Wisc.-Milwaukee 11-14 - 21 pts./11 rebs.

Mark Payne
Florida Atlantic 11-12 - 19 pts./11 rebs.

1000 POINT WATCH
Seniors Joe Harden and Mark Payne entered the season just shy of the 1000-point plateau, with each player starting the year with over 900 points. Payne reached the career milestone on Nov. 14 vs. Wisc.-Milwaukee, scoring 17 points in the game and becoming the 17th member of the UC Davis 1000-point club. Harden should join Payne soon, with just 37 points needed to reach 1000. The progress of Harden and the overall career standing of Payne will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

Mark Payne -1021 career points - Ranks 17th overall in UC Davis career scoring
Joe Harden - 963 career points

NO PAYNE NO GAIN
Despite missing eight games due to injury last season, senior guard Mark Payne was the Big West active career leader in three separate categories entering the 2010-11 season, including points (964), assists (352) and steals (149).

In the UC Davis record books, Payne is also in the top ten in career assists and steals and climbing the leader board. His progress will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

CAREER ASSISTS
1. Angelo Rivers, 1982-86 467
2. Dante Ross, 1996-99 380
3. Mark Payne, 2007-Present 362

CAREER STEALS
1. Dante Ross, 1996-99 186
2. Angelo Rivers, 1983-86 180
3. Chris Familetti, 1988-89, `90-92 172
4. Mark Payne, 2007-Present 151

WINNING BREEDS WINNING
There has been a common theme for the UC Davis men's basketball team over the past three years: consistent improvement.

2007-08 season: nine wins, two conference wins. 2008-09 season: 13 wins, seven conference wins. 2009-10 season: 14 wins, eight conference wins.

Coach Stewart is hoping that the Aggies will look to improve on that mark again this season.

"The theme is return and advance," said Stewart. "We want to get to the upper echelon of the conference, return to the conference tournament and advance farther than we did last year. The charge again is to continue to move the program forward, trying to build on some of the successes that we had last year. We feel like if we can remain healthy, we have a golden opportunity to do that."

COACH Gary Stewart ON TWITTER
This season we will keep up with head coach Gary Stewart on Twitter, "retweeting" his latest tweets, starting with the most recent ones.

"I am fired up! Go Ags!"
15 Oct

"First day of "official" basketball practice! We are two hours away from taking the floor........."
15 Oct

"Coach Gross is an incredible teacher/coach. Without question, she will continue the long line of outstanding wbb coaches to lead the Ags!"
8 Oct

"and.......Congratulations to Jennifer Gross, who was named the Head Women's Basketball Coach for the 2011-12 season and beyond!"
8 Oct

"I am looking forward to seeing him coach one last season at the helm of the Ags!"
8 Oct

"On behalf of the entire men's basketball program at UC Davis, we wish him a retirement filled with joy and great health."
8 Oct

"UC Davis Women's Basketball Coach, Sandy Simpson, announces his retirement. Simple put, he is an outstanding coach and a wonderful person."
8 Oct

"First day of school, 2010-11. Go Ags!"
23 Sep

NOTABLE NON-CONFERENCE GAMES
Cal and perennial national power UCLA highlight a schedule that features three non-conference teams that reached the 20-win plateau. Pac-10 regular-season champion Cal, which beat Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to eventual national champion Duke in the second, finished 24-11. The Bears will host the Aggies on Dec. 1 at Haas Pavilion as the teams meet for the first time since the 1986-87 season. The Aggies and Bruins will play on Dec. 13 at legendary Pauley Pavilion, facing each other for the second time in the past four seasons. Cal joins Wisc.-Milwaukee (20-14) and Portland (21-11) as 20-game winners on the Aggies' non-conference schedule.

TELEVISED GAMES
UC Davis has a guarantee of three televised games this season, with the possibility of more to come. Currently, the Aggies will make appearances in games vs. UCLA, Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara. In the Dec. 13 matchup with the Bruins, the game will be televised on Prime Ticket. ESPNU will cover the Long Beach State game on Jan. 12, while the Feb. 2 tilt with UC Santa Barbara will also be on Prime Ticket.

HARDEN'S PRESEASON PLAUDIT
Senior guard Joe Harden was named to the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team, voted on by a panel of media members. Harden has been selected to the Big West All-Conference Second Team the past two seasons. Last season, he was also named to the 2010 Big West All Tournament Team and he was named the 2009-10 Best Hustle Player in the Big West. Entering the 2010-11 season, Harden was third in active career leaders in points (908) and rebounds (445).