March 11, 2010

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ANAHEIM, Calif. - Joe Harden scored a game-high 20 points and added nine rebounds to lead UC Davis to a 68-65 victory over Cal State Fullerton Thursday night in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena. The Aggies also had key contributions from freshmen Ryan Howley and Julian Welch. Howley scored a career-high 14 points, and Welch added 11.

With the win, UC Davis (14-17) advances to the tournament semifinals to face top-seed UC Santa Barbara Friday night. The game tips at 6:30 p.m. and will be televised nationally on ESPNU. It will be the first appearance ever for the Aggies in the Big West Tournament semifinals.

Cal State Fullerton (16-15) had a chance to win the game in the closing seconds, but Gerard Anderson missed an off-balance jumper in the lane with four seconds remaining. Welch sank two free throws with less than a second remaining to seal the victory for UC Davis. Anderson led Cal State Fullerton with 17 points.

UC Davis trailed 33-25 at halftime but steadily chipped away at the deficit in the second half. It took over seven minutes, but the Aggies overtook the Titans on a Harden layup at the 12:25 mark to make it 45-44. From that point, Howley scored the next eight UC Davis points. His put-back layup with 9:08 left gave the Aggies a 53-50 lead.

The lead would change hands six more times in the closing minutes. The last was with 3:41 left when Harden's jumper made it 64-63. The best the Titans could do was tie the game at 64-64. Howley's layup with 1:07 to go put UC Davis back on top, 66-64.

Anderson went 1-for-2 from the line at the other end to pull the Titans within 66-65 with 49 seconds left. After a missed jumper by Harden with 16 seconds left, Anderson grabbed the rebound to set up his shot in the closing seconds.

Another Aggie freshman, Ryan Sypkens, added six points as the freshmen combined for 31 of the Aggies' 68 points. Senior Dominic Calegari finished with 13. Junior Mark Payne was limited to just 13 minutes of action due to a shoulder injury suffered in the first half.

"The second half we played more physical. We were committed to putting the ball in the paint," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "I also thought our three freshmen were outstanding. They were terrific. We lost Mark and we needed a contribution. We talked to them just before the second half started about if we're going to get this thing done, then they're going to have to step up and they did that."

UC Davis shot 46 percent from the field while Cal State Fullerton finished at 49 percent. Both teams struggled from beyond the arc. The Aggies made four of their 16 long-range attempts while the Titans shot 3-for-14. UC Davis shot 14-for-16 from the line and outrebounded CSF, 33-27.

The largest lead for either team was 10 by the Titans late in the first half. The Aggies led by no more than four points all night.

The victory was the third this season for the Aggies over the Titans and the second in as many games. The trio of wins came by a combined 13 points. Last Saturday, UC Davis closed out its regular season with a 92-86 overtime win at Cal State Fullerton.

Next up for UC Davis is UC Santa Barbara. The Gauchos defeated the Aggies twice during the regular season. UCSB has yet to play in the tournament as it earned a double-bye into the semifinals by earning the No. 1 seed.