March 6, 2010

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FULLERTON, Calif. - Redshirt freshman Julian Welch scored nine of his 18 points in overtime to help lead UC Davis to a thrilling 92-86 overtime victory Saturday night in a Big West Conference men's basketball game at Titan Gym. Dominic Calegari tied a career-high with 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds. In addition, Adam Malik and Mark Payne each scored 12 in the regular season finale for the Aggies.

The win improves UC Davis to 13-17 overall and 8-8 in the Big West. More significantly, the Aggies clinched a No. 4 seed and a First Round bye in next week's Big West Tournament. It's the first time the Aggies have received the opening round bye in their three years as part of the conference. UC Davis needed help to get the No. 4 seed and received it when UC Irvine defeated Cal Poly in overtime later Saturday evening. The Aggies will begin play next Thursday night in the second game of the evening session at the Anaheim Convention Center.

UC Davis never trailed in regulation and fell behind just once in overtime. The Aggies outscored the Titans, 17-11, in the extra period with 14 of the 17 points coming from the bench. After Cal State Fullerton (15-14, 8-8 Big West) took a 77-75 lead to start overtime, UC Davis went on a 13-4 blitz. Malik started it with his fourth three-pointer of the game to give the Aggies a 78-77 lead. A Welch trey with 1:40 left made it 83-79. Calegari made a three-pointer 30 seconds later, and a pair of Welch free throws pushed the UC Davis lead to 88-81.

The Titans could not get closer than six the rest of the overtime period. The Aggies also played the overtime period without Joe Harden, who fouled out in regulation.

The overtime was set up by a dramatic finish to the second half as CSF's Jacques Streeter made a three-pointer with under 10 seconds remaining to tie the game at 75-75. It was just the second tie of the game up until that point as the Aggies had never trailed.

UC Davis built an early cushion, thanks in large part to Malik. The sophomore came off the bench to spark an 11-2 run in the first half to give the Aggies a 17-8 lead. Malik went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in a span of 3:11. A jumper by Welch at the 10:14 mark capped off the surge.

Welch connected on a trey three minutes later, and a Payne free throw with 4:03 left in the half gave the Aggies a 27-14 lead. It would turn out to be their largest of the night. The Aggies' lead did not go under 10 the rest of the half, and they led 38-28 at the break.

Calegari scored the Aggies' first nine points of the second half. His layup at the 16:49 mark made it 42-33. Cal State Fullerton then went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a pair of free throws by Gerard Anderson, and trimmed the deficit to 42-41.

Calegari went back to work with a layup and a three-pointer as the Aggies pushed the lead back to 47-41. UC Davis led 59-52 with 8:11 left in the second half after a Calegari basket, but the Titans would chip away once again.

A 12-5 run by Cal State Fullerton tied the game at 64-64 with 5:04 remaining. UC Davis retained its lead in the closing minutes of regulation but never led by more than four. Calegari sank six straight free throws in the final two minutes with the last two giving the Aggies a 74-70 lead with 30 seconds remaining. UC Davis led 75-72 when Streeter made his three with nine seconds left to send the game into overtime.

UC Davis shot 48 percent for the night but was even better from beyond the arc. The Aggies made 12 of their 21 attempts from long range to finish at 57 percent. Calegari and Payne each had three treys while Welch added two.

Three-point shooting was a big factor in the win as the Titans made just six of their 21 attempts. Both teams shot 80 percent from the line. The Aggies went 28-for-35 from the stripe compared to 24-for-30 for the Titans. Welch was perfect in his eight attempts, and so was Calegari in seven attempts.

Streeter and Gerard Anderson each scored 23 to lead Cal State Fullerton.

The win gave UC Davis its first series sweep over the Titans.