Feb. 5, 2011

Final Stats

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Davis played in their second overtime game in the last three contests, but came up just short Saturday, in a 93-86 overtime loss against UC Santa Barbara, at the Thunderdome.

Mark Payne set a new career high with 33 points and sent the game into overtime with the tying basket at the end of regulation. Orlando Johnson also had a career high with 39 points, including eight points in overtime.

Both teams teams shot lights out, with UC Davis (8-14, 3-7) shooting 55 percent (31-55) from the field and 61 percent (11-18) from behind the arc. UC Santa Barbara (12-9, 5-5) was on the same pace with a 56 percent (34-61) effort from the field. Gaucho coach Bob Williams recorded his 400th career victory as a head coach with the win.

Payne's 33 points came on 11 of 16 shooting with a 9 of 11 effort from the foul line, to go along with six rebounds and five assists. Josh Ritchart added 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting off the bench, 14 of which were in the first half. Joe Harden scored seven points on 3 of 4 shooting, but left the game at the 4:39 mark in the first half with an injury and did not return.

Johnson's 39 points came on 12 of 19 shooting, with a 14-17 mark at the charity stripe. James Nunnally also poured in 23 points, shooting an impressive 10 of 12 from the field.

"It's disappointing. I'm trying to muster up some enthusiasm for a great game, but I'm bitterly disappointed," said head coach Gary Stewart. "I can't say enough superlatives about Mark's effort tonight. For a senior to come into this type of an environment and play that well is a credit to him. Mark worked really hard off the ball and our guys did a great job to get him the ball."

UC Davis' hot shooting started in the first half, with the Aggies posting a 71 percent effort from the floor in the first 20 minutes. After a 12-11 lead early on for UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis rattled off a 7-0 run to go up 18-12 with 12:01 on the clock.

The Aggies took their biggest lead of the game with a 32-20 score at the 7:32 mark. Ritchart manufactured a run on his own, scoring 14 consecutive points for UC Davis as part of a 14-5 run.

The Gauchos climbed back in the game however, closing out the first half on a 16-6 run to make the score 45-43 at the break, with the Aggies holding the advantage.

UC Santa Barbara took back the lead to start the second half, using five Nunnally points to go up 48-47. A track meet broke out from there, with 11 ties and 12 lead changes in the game, as both teams got whatever they wanted on offense.

The Gauchos led 62-59 with 9:29 left in the second half, thanks to a three from Jordan Weiner. UC Davis managed to break free from there, using an Eddie Miller jumper to take a 76-67 lead with 4:11 left to play.

The Aggies led by seven with just over two minutes left in regulation, but UC Santa Barbara rallied to outscore UC Davis 9-0 over a two minute stretch. Nunnally had the go ahead jumper in the lane, giving the Gauchos a brief 80-78 lead with just 17 seconds left to play. Payne would answer however, knocking down a step-back jumper at the foul line with five seconds left, to extend the game into the extra period.

The overtime session was more of the same, with each team exchanging baskets. UC Davis did not lead in the extra period, but UC Santa Barbara did not lead by more than two until the final minute. On three occasions, the Gauchos went up by two, only to be answered with a tying basket or free throw from the Aggies. UC Davis failed to score in the final 2:28 however, as UC Santa Barbara was able to hang on for the final 93-86 win.

"We had a much better tempo to our offense and we got some good looks and opportunities tonight," said Stewart. "I thought the ball moved from side to side and we were able to attack the middle. We were aggressive."

"We had opportunities, but we couldn't get a rebound," continued Stewart. "You have to credit Santa Barbara because they are working diligently to get those, but there's no excuse."

UC Davis will look to bounce back next week, when they play at home against league leading Long Beach State on Thursday, Feb. 10 at 7 p.m.