Jan. 22, 2011

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's basketball team couldn't overcome a 44-14 halftime deficit against Pacific, as the Tigers cruised to an 87-54 win Saturday, at The Pavilion.

UC Davis (6-12, 1-5) shot just 19 percent (5-26) in the first half, with no player registering multiple field goals in that time. The Aggies ended the game with a 35 percent mark from the floor. Pacific (11-8, 3-3) had an impressive offensive showing, shooting 55 percent (30-55) from the floor and 71 percent (15-21) from behind the arc.

Jose Rivera led the offensive attack for the Tigers, coming off the bench to score a game high 18 points on 6 of 8 shooting from three point range. Five players for Pacific reached double figures, with Allen Huddleston posting 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting with a 4 of 6 effort from behind the arc. Pat Eveland also had a double double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

Despite the tough shooting night, Joe Harden reached double figures for UC Davis for the 15th time this season, with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Eddie Miller added 12 points, while Mark Payne chipped in with seven points off the bench.

Payne and Todd Lowenthal came off the bench and looked to shake off some rust in their first game back from injury. Prior to Saturday, Payne and Lowenthal had missed three and nine games, respectively.

"Credit Pacific, they played very well," said head coach Gary Stewart. "We're struggling on both sides of the ball. We don't have an identity. We're not guarding very well and our offense is not playing well. Both sides of the ball were an abomination tonight; we were inefficient in both areas"

Pacific had their hot shooting going early and often, starting the game with a 10-0 advantage. UC Davis got on the board with a three from Josh Ritchart, but the Tigers increased their lead with a 23-3 score at the 11:07 mark.

After a 33-12 score, Pacific surged for another 11-2 run, bringing the score to 44-14 at the break. The 14 points at the half was a season low for UC Davis.

The Aggies pulled within 25 on multiple occasions in the second half, but the Tigers played comfortably with a 20-plus point lead for the remainder of the game.

A quick five points for Payne make the score 72-47 with 4:32 on the clock in the second period. Pacific ended the game on a 10-2 run, taking their largest lead with the final score of 87-54.

"There's no question that tonight was disappointing in relation to what our expectations are for our team," said Stewart. "Obviously right now, we're not as good as we'd like to be. We don't have any continuity right now, we look like a team that is playing in their first exhibition game. We're going to have to play better."

UC Davis will be at home for two games next week, starting with UC Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. Thursday's game will be the only home televised game of the season for the Aggies, airing on Comcast California.