Payne, Harden And Ritchart Take Big West Honors

March 7, 2011

DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis men's basketball team collected four conference post-season awards as the 2010-11 Big West men's basketball all-conference team was unveiled today as voted on by the league's nine coaches. Joe Harden and Mark Payne received honorable mention and Josh Ritchart was named the co-freshman of the year. Harden also was named the "Best Hustle Player" for the second consecutive season.

Payne led the team this season with 15.5 points per game, to go along with 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per contest. He was in the top 10 in the Big West in both scoring (6th) and assists (7th).

The 6-8 guard also was fourth in the conference in field goal percentage (52.2), seventh in free throw percentage (81.4) and fifth in minutes per game (33.85). The Stockton, Calif. native finished the season as the Big West active career leader in points, assists and steals. Payne totaled some impressive career numbers for UC Davis, with 1,382 points, 586 rebounds, 448 assists and 178 steals.

Harden was named the "Best Hustle Player" for the second straight season and received his third consecutive all-conference recognition. The senior ranked 11th in the Big West in scoring (14.9 ppg), tied for 13th in rebounding (5.6 rpg), seventh in steals (1.4) and eighth in free throw percentage (.800).

The 6-8 guard scored in double-digits in 22 of 28 games, including six contests of 20 or more points. The Acampo, Calif. native sustained an unfortunate season-ending injury against UC Riverside on Feb. 26, finishing his collegiate career with 1,326 points.

Ritchart continues a long line of Aggies who have made an immediate impact upon entering the program. He is the third Aggie in the last four years to garner top freshman honors, joining Mark Payne (2007-08) and Julian Welch (2009-10) on that list. The guard/forward ranked fifth on the squad in scoring with 7.9 points per game and knocked down a team second-best 47 three-pointers.

Ritchart, who hails from Auburn, Calif., ranked fourth in the Big West in three-point field goal percentage (.409). He canned five threes and erupted for a career-high 23 points at UCLA on Dec. 13, 2010 and scored in double figures six times in the final nine games.

UC Davis finished with a 10-20 overall record and a 4-12 mark in conference play in the 2010-11 season.