Jan. 7, 2011

Complete Game Notes

Live Video

Live Audio



UC DAVIS MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
UC Davis (6-9, 1-2)
vs.
Cal Poly (5-8, 1-1)

Saturday, January 8, 2011
7:00 p.m. (PST) - Davis, Calif.
The Pavilion (7,100)
KFSG (1690 AM)

OPENING TIPS
- UC Davis dropped their second conference game of the season vs. UC Santa Barbara, falling 77-65. It was just the second home loss on the season for the Aggies.
- The Aggies are 1-7 this season when scoring under 70 points as a team.
- Eddie Miller led UC Davis with 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting, while adding six rebounds. The game marked the fourth consecutive game that Miller has reached double figures.
- Ryan Sypkens reached double figures with 13 points vs. the Gauchos. It was also his fourth consecutive game scoring 10 points or more.
- Mike Kurtz recorded career highs in points (13), field goals made (5) and three point field goals made (3) vs. UC Santa Barbara.
- Mark Payne did not play vs. the Gauchos due to an injury suffered at the end of the Cal State Northridge game. Todd Lowenthal was also out due to injury for the seventh consecutive game.
- Cal Poly comes into the contest with a 5-8 overall record and a 1-1 mark in conference play.
- In their most recent game, the Mustangs had a drag out fight on the road with Pacific, but came away with a 43-39 win. In their only other conference game, Cal Poly lost to Long Beach State, 69-53 at home.
- David Hanson leads the Mustangs in scoring with 15.6 points per game, while adding 5.1 rebounds per game. Hanson also leads the Big West in minutes played per game, with 37.3.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Saturday's game will mark the 40th all-time meeting between UC Davis and Cal Poly, with the Mustangs holding a 27-12 advantage over the Aggies. Last season, UC Davis split with Cal Poly, taking an 83-63 win in their most recent game at The Pavilion.

HEAD COACHES
Gary Stewart is in his 18th year as a head coach and his 8th season with the Aggies. He currently owns a 226-256 overall record and a 84-137 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.

Joe Callero holds a 17-27 record in his second season with Cal Poly and a 156-157 overall record in over 11 seasons as a head coach. Prior to his arrival at Cal Poly, Callero was the head coach at Seattle (2001-09), where he guided the Redhawks to 75 victories during his final four seasons and successfully directed the program through its transition to the Division I level. Callero's final 2008-09 season with the Redhawks produced a 21-8 campaign and the program's highest winning percentage in 45 seasons. Additionally, the 2008-09 Redhawks finished No. 131 out of 347 programs in the final Sagarin Ratings.

CAL POLY SCOUTING REPORT
The Mustangs enter Saturday's contest with a 5-8 overall record and 1-1 mark in conference play, having recently taken a 43-39 win at Pacific. In their only Big West game this season, Cal Poly dropped a 69-53 decision vs. Long Beach State at home. The Mustangs have played several common opponents with the Aggies, taking a win at Seattle, but losses at Sacramento State, UCLA and California. Cal Poly currently leads the conference in scoring defense, holding opponents to 59.1 points per game. The Mustangs are also ranked 4th in the nation in three point FG defense, holding opponents to 26.4 percent shooting behind the arc. UC Davis comes into the game leading the conference in field goal percentage (.464), assists (15.0/game) and three point FGs (7.87/game).

MEDIA COVERAGE
Thursday's contest will air on KFSG (1690 AM) with Scott Marsh on play-by-play. Bill Herenda will provide analysis for the game. The broadcast will be simulcast on ucdavisaggies.com through Game Central by Stretch Internet. The game will also be streamed live and available to watch at bigwest.org. Live stat are available via ucdavisaggies.com.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Davis dropped their second consecutive conference game and their first at home, with a 77-65 loss vs. UC Santa Barbara. The Aggies shot 54 percent in the first half, but still trailed 41-37 at the intermission. UC Davis had the game tied at 41-41 to start the second half, but UC Santa Barbara used a quick 6-0 run to pull away for good. UC Davis cut the lead to four late in the game, but never led in the second period. Orlando Johnson scored a game high 21 points, including 16 second half points, five assists and four rebounds to lead UC Santa Barbara. James Nunnally also posted 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting, to go along with nine rebounds. UC Davis was led by Eddie Miller, who tallied 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting, while adding six rebounds. Mike Kurtz scored a career high 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting, hitting 3 of 5 from behind the arc. Ryan Sypkens reached double figures for the fourth consecutive game with 13 points, while Ryan Silva added a season high 10 points.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Despite the offensive struggles late in the second half vs. UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis still leads the Big West in several offensive statistics. The Aggies are number one in field goal percentage (.464), assists (15.0/game) and three point FGs (7.87/game). UC Davis is also third in both free throw percentage (.726) and three point FG percentage (.375). Ryan Sypkens leads the conference in three point FG percentage (.472), with the next closest player shooting just 43 percent. Eddie Miller is also ranked fifth in overall field goal percentage, shooting better than 49 percent on the season.

THREE POINT THREATS
UC Davis has proved that they can consistently knock down the long ball this season. They currently lead the Big West in three point FGs made per game, connecting on 7.87 per contest as a team. In each of the last seven games, the Aggies have hit eight or more threes. UC Davis reached double figures in three point FGs made for the second time this season, when they poured in 13 triples in a win at Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies have six players that have recorded multiple threes in at least two games this season. Even more impressive is that the list of six players (Eddie Miller, Ryan Sypkens, Josh Ritchart, Ryan Howley, Ryan Silva, Tyler Les) does not include the top two scoring threats for UC Davis (Joe Harden and Mark Payne).

BACK-TO-BACK FOR SYPKENS
Ryan Sypkens responded well to being placed back in the starting lineup for conference play, posting career highs in back-to-back games. Sypkens shot 6 of 12 for a career high 17 points in a win over Cal State Fullerton, while adding five assists and three rebounds. He followed that performance with a new career high 19 points vs. Cal State Northridge, shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 5 of 7 from behind the arc. The five three point FGs made also set a new career high, while five rebounds in the game tied a career best.

MULTIPLE SEASON BESTS VS. THE MATADORS
UC Davis set multiple team and individual season highs in a win at Cal State Fullerton. The Aggies poured in a season high 88 points, while connecting on 13 threes. It was the second time this season that UC Davis had 10 or more threes in a game, after hitting on 15 triples against Notre Dame de Namur. The Aggies also had a season high with 30 field goals made as a team, shooting 50 percent for the game. Eddie Miller matched a career best for the third time on the season with 20 points. Josh Ritchart also reached 20 points for the second time on the season. Ryan Sypkens tallied a career high 17 points, to go along with 5 assists.

MILLER MATCHES A CAREER BEST
In his first season with the Aggies, junior transfer Eddie Miller has registered 20 points in multiple games this season. His first 20-point performance came in a win vs. Seattle back on Nov. 27. Miller also led UC Davis to a win over Southern Utah with 20 more points, after shooting 9 of 14 from the floor.

SYPKENS' HOT SHOOTING FROM THREE
Sophomore guard Ryan Sypkens came off the bench to net 16 points vs. Southern Utah, shooting an efficient 6 of 7 from the floor and 4 of 4 from behind the arc. The game marked the second time this season that Sypkens has tallied 16 points off the bench, while connecting on four threes. He also poured in 16 points in a win at Sacramento State, shooting 6 of 8 from the floor and 4 of 6 from long range. Sypkens leads the team in three point field goals made on the season.

BATTLING WITH THE BISON
For the past two seasons, UC Davis has had some memorable matchups vs. the North Dakota State Bison, in the only two meetings in school history. While the Bison have come away with both wins, the combined margin of victory was six over the two games. In the first ever meeting, NDSU took a 63-62 win on the Aggies' home court, back on Nov. 29, 2009. This season, UC Davis came up just short again, taking the game down to the wire before a 76-71 defeat.

TESTING THE PAC-10
Despite two losses vs. Pac-10 teams this season, UC Davis had potential for upsets against Cal and UCLA earlier this season. The Aggies dropped a 74-62 decision at Cal and lost 72-67 at UCLA. In the second half vs. the Golden Bears, UC Davis had just a six point deficit and trailed by only four late in the game vs. the Bruins. The Aggies have also had some strong individual performances in both games. Joe Harden had a career high 27 points against Cal, while Josh Ritchart poured in career high 23 points at UCLA.

RITCHART RISING
Josh Ritchart had one of the more impressive performances of the season for UC Davis, when he scored 23 points off the bench at UCLA on Dec. 13. After going a perfect 3 for 3 in the first half, 16 of Ritchart's 23 points came in the second half, including four threes. He had a stretch late in the game where he hit three consecutive threes, to pull the Aggies within six, the smallest deficit of the second half.

ON TOP OF ASSISTS
UC Davis had a season high 20 assists in their win vs. Notre Dame de Namur, while also recording a season low 10 turnovers. In the Week 5 Big West Conference Report, the Aggies climbed to the top of the leaderboard in team assists, with 15.1 per game. The next closest league foe is Long Beach State, with 14.1 game. Senior Mark Payne is a big reason why UC Davis is finding ways to effectively share the ball. Payne moved into sole possession of second place for career assists at UC Davis after the win vs. the Argonauts, with a total of 383 assists.

LES IS MORE
Freshman Tyler Les sparked an onslaught of threes vs. Notre Dame de Namur, coming off the bench to hit a team best four triples, while UC Davis hit 15 from long range for the game. The 15 three point field goals set a new program record for threes made in regulation, surpassing the previous mark of 14. Eddie Miller and Ryan Sypkens also had three threes apiece, while the Aggies shot 15-30 as a team.

HARDEN'S SCORING HEIGHTS
Senior Joe Harden has lived up to his preseason All-Conference selection, leading the Aggies in scoring and rebounding this season. Harden scored his 1000th career point vs. Seattle, followed by a career high 27 points in the next game vs. California. Even more impressive is that he has reached the 1000 point milestone in just three seasons with UC Davis, after transferring from Notre Dame. Harden is one of just five Aggies in history to reach 1000 career points in three seasons. He is currently on pace to be the all-time leading scorer among three year players. John Frost (1965-68) leads the group with 1,346 career points.

SHOTS FROM THE HEART
Head coach Gary Stewart and assistant coach Kevin Nosek are participating in collegeinsider.com's "Shots From the Heart." The objective of Shots From the Heart is to help create more awareness for the growing problem of Heart Disease and to raise money to benefit the American Heart Association during the 2010-11 season. The event will also play tribute to the late Skip Prosser who passed away on July 26, 2007 of a heart attack. To do this, college basketball coaches have been competing against one another in a free throw shooting tournament. The tournaments started in November with separate brackets for head and assistant coaches and the winners advancing to the next round.

Both coaches for the Aggies advanced in the first round and will play their second round matchup sometime from Dec. 16 - Dec. 31. Coach Stewart downed John Beilein from Michigan in the first round, 27-25, while coach Nosek took a win over Kurtis Townsend of Kansas, 29-24. The second round matchup pairs coach Stewart vs. Mike Londergan of Vermont, while coach Nosek will face off with Alvin Brooks III of Sam Houston State.

CHECK THAT... (PART II)
Another stat correction this season ended up providing another noteworthy accomplishment. In the Nov. 27 game vs. Seattle, freshman Mike Kurtz was originally credited with four blocks. It was later revealed that Kurtz should have had five blocks. The five blocks for Kurtz ties a single game UC Davis record. Kurts now shares the record with Jason Cox (vs. St. Rose (N.Y.), 3/19/98) and Randy DeBortoli (vs. Cal State Hayward, 2/6/88).

LOWENTHAL IN THE NCAA RANKS
With the first NCAA statistical rankings posted on Monday, Nov. 29th, Todd Lowenthal was the only player for the Aggies that received an individual ranking in the top 100. At the time, Lowenthal led the team in assists and steals and was among the nation's best with 2.3 steals per game (57th) and a 2.36 assist to turnover ratio (85th). The next highest ranking for UC Davis was Mark Payne, who was shooting 82.2 percent from the free-throw line (182nd). As a team, the Aggies were ranked 93rd in free-throw percentage, shooting 71.1 percent.

Q&A WITH STEWART AND PAYNE
In the Nov. 29, 2010 issue of ESPN the Magazine, there is an article on page 64 about "hybrid players." Senior guard Mark Payne (6-8, 215 lbs.) was originally interviewed to be included in the article, with head coach Gary Stewart also commenting on Payne's status as a hybrid player. The Payne section was eventually left out of the final article, but the Q&A session with Payne and Stewart is available online to read. Visit ucdavisaggies.com and check out the "around the web" section to access a link to the conversations.

UC RIVERSIDE HOME GAME TO BE TELEVISED
UC Davis has picked up a televised game this season at home vs. UC Riverside on January 27th, with a tip time set for 7 p.m. The recently added game will air on Comcast California. The Aggies play in four televised games this season, but the Jan. 27th tilt will be the only home contest televised for UC Davis.

CAUSEWAY CUP CONTINUES
UC Davis jumped ahead in the Causeway Cup standings after a dramatic 17-16 win in the football Causeway Classic on Saturday, Nov. 20. The Causeway Cup awards points to either UC Davis or Sacramento State. Each of the schools' 18 common teams usually compete against each other at least once during the year. The winner is given the pre-determined amount of points of either five or 10. If the two schools meet just once in a season, then all the points will go to the winning team. But if the teams play each other two times or more, the points are divided by how many meetings occur. A men's basketball win just three days after football gave the Aggies a commanding 37.5 - 15.0 lead in the 2010-11 Causeway Cup standings. The winner of the cup must score more than 50 points out of a possible 100. Last year, UC Davis took a 55.83 - 44.17 victory over Sacramento State.

CHECK THAT...
After checking the stats from previous games, an interesting correction has been made to the first game of the season vs. Florida Atlantic. In that game, Mark Payne was originally credited with 13 free throws on 13 attempts. After the error was revealed, Payne was 14 of 14 at the line vs. FAU. Not only did the correction give Payne a 20-10 game, but the 14 free throws made ties a career high for the senior guard.

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 Mark Payne
UC Santa Cruz 11-17 - 16 pts./11 rebs. Florida Atlantic 11-12 - 20 pts./11 rebs.
Wisc.-Milwaukee 11-14 - 21 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 Scored his 1000th on Nov. 27 vs. Seattle, scoring 16 points in the game. The progress of the overall career standings for both players will be monitored on a game-by-game basis.

10. Dominic Calegari, 2006-10 - 1,271 career points
11. Fowzi Abdelsamad, 2000-05 - 1,235 career points
12. Mark Payne, 2007-present - 1,147 career points
13. Mark Ford, 1974-77 - 1,137 career points
14. Joe Harden, 2008-present - 1,124 career points
15. Jason Robedeaux, 1983-85, '86-88 - 1,112 career points
16. Alan Steed, 1967-70 - 1,107 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 CAREER STEALS
1. Angelo Rivers, 1982-86 467 1. Dante Ross, 1996-99 186
2. Mark Payne, 2007-Present 405 2. Angelo Rivers, 1983-86 180
3. Dante Ross, 1996-99 380 3. Chris Familetti, 1988-89, '90-92 172
4. Mark Payne, 2007-Present 160

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).