Dec. 3, 2011

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Senior Eddie Miller hit all four of his three-pointers and scored 22 points for UC Davis on Saturday afternoon but Idaho canned a season-high 12 treys of its own en route to a 94-74 nonconference men's basketball win at The Pavilion.

The loss sends UC Davis to a 1-7 overall record while the Vandals improve to 4-3. Sophomore guard Tyler Les scored 12 points on a career-high tying four three-pointers for the Aggies while sophomore Josh Ritchart finished with 10 points.

Stephen Madison scored 19 points and had a game-high eight rebounds for the Vandals who also received 18 points from guard Deremy Geiger, 17 from Connor Hill and 15 points from Kyle Barone. Hill had five treys, Geiger added four and Madison finished with three for Idaho which was 12 for 20 (.600) from beyond the arc overall.

Both teams shot the ball well after halftime with UC Davis making 65.2 percent (15 of 23) of its attempts and Idaho converting 68 percent (17 of 25).

The Vandals were also effective around the basketball, outscoring UC Davis 36-16 in the paint while grabbing 13 offensive rebounds. Landon Tatum had nine assists for Idaho which had 24 assists on 32 baskets.

"I've been talking to (the team) about being a defensive team that can score," said Les. "We shoot 65 percent in the second half and put ourselves offensively in a position to get back in the game, yet we give up (nearly) 70-percent shooting. We tried man, we tried zone. At some points it's not necessarily the schemes, it's the effort and the willingness to compete and get stops and be aggressive on that end."

Three-pointers helped Idaho establish early control in the game as Geiger made a pair and Stephen Madison had another, helping Idaho lead 11-5 after just 2-1/2 minutes. The lead reached 21-11 after a layup from Mansa Habeeb with 14 minutes, 24 seconds left in the half.

Les had a pair of three-pointers as UC Davis went on a 10-2 run to cut a 14-point deficit to just 27-21 midway but eight straight points by the Vandals, capped by two free throws by Landon Tatum, made it 35-21 three minutes later. The Aggies trailed by 17 points but got a three-pointer from Ritchart and a free throw by Ryan Howley to close to within 43-30 at the half.

A strong start after intermission helped Idaho take a 56-34 lead with less than four minutes gone before UC Davis rallied to within 66-56 with 11:55 remaining. Miller hit a couple of three-pointers, Harrison Dupont had a dunk and Alex Tiffin converted a three-point play to cap the 22-10 Aggie run.

But Madison and Hill had back-to-back treys as Idaho rebuilt its lead and pulled away down the stretch.

Tyrell Corbin had four assists for UC Davis while Tiffin paced the Aggies with five boards. UC Davis shot 48.9 percent for the game while Idaho made 56.1 percent. Les made four treys for the second time this year and the fourth time in his career.

Miller, who has been sidelined by injury for most of the season, made 6 of 8 shots while adding three rebounds and two assists.

"Eddie had a good week of practice," said Les. "He still doesn't have his game legs, he still doesn't have his conditioning to where it needs to be but I give him credit, he worked hard this week.

"We're really excited to have him back."

UC Davis begins a stretch of five straight games away from The Pavilion when it travels to face Hawaii on Dec. 11. The Aggies will break for final exams leading up to their matchup against the Rainbow Warriors.