Game 4

Utah State Aggies (3-1)
at
UC Davis Aggies (3-0)

Wednesday, Nov. 26 - 7 p.m. or 35 mins after the conclusion of the women's game, whichever is later
The Pavilion (5,670) - Davis, Calif.

Radio: KSAC (105.5 FM) - Scott Marsh (PBP)
Internet Audio: ucdavisaggies.com
Free Internet Stream: BigWest.TV
Live Stats: ucdavislivestats.com
In-game Twitter Updates: @UCDavisInGame

Game Notes

Game 5

Utah Valley Wolverines (2-1)
at
UC Davis Aggies

Saturday, Nov. 29 - 7 p.m. or 35 mins after the conclusion of the women's game, whichever is later
The Pavilion (5,670) - Davis, Calif.

Radio: KSAC (105.5 FM) - Scott Marsh (PBP)
Internet Audio: ucdavisaggies.com
Free Internet Stream: BigWest.TV
Live Stats: ucdavislivestats.com
In-game Twitter Updates: @UCDavisInGame

DAViS, Calif. - For the first time in program history, an all-Aggie matchup involving UC Davis and Utah State will take place inside the Pavilion Wednesday evening as the back half of a UC Davis basketball doubleheader (the women host Utah Valley at 4:45 p.m.). UC Davis will enter that contest as the only Big West team with an undefeated record; a victory against USU will preserve men's basketball's first place standing and give the program its first win against Utah State.

Wednesday's game also provides UC Davis guard/forward Josh Ritchart with an opportunity to join an exclusive list of Aggie greats just by scoring one point as he enters with 999 career points. On his next made free throw, or field goal, Ritchart will become the 21st UC Davis player to reach this milestone.

Series Record: Utah State leads 2-0
Last UC Davis Win: N/A
Last Utah State Win: 73-61; 12/21/12 at Logan, Utah
Series Record: Utah State +2

A week that includes two Beehive State battles will conclude Saturday evening inside the Pavilion when Utah Valley makes its second trip to Davis. In 2007, the Wolverines defeated the Aggies on their home court, 57-38, before earning a season sweep exactly one month later with an 88-59 result in Orem.

Saturday's game is the second of three straight home matchups for UC Davis and the fourth of a seven-game road swing for Utah Valley. Before arriving to Northern California, UVU will face Idaho State; after its matchup at UC Davis, the Wolverines will continue their trip against cross-Causeway rival Sacramento State.

Series Record: Utah Valley leads 2-0
Last UC Davis Win: N/A
Last Utah Valley Win: 88-59; 2/6/07 at Orem, Utah
Series Record: Utah Valley +2

LISTEN LIVE TO UC DAVIS MEN'S BASKETBALL
For the fourth season, UC Davis men's basketball games will air on KSAC (105.5 FM). Scott Marsh (@ScottMarsh1140) will provide the play-by-play and begin his broadcast 30 minutes before tip-off with his pregame show. Fans can also listen to Marsh's broadcast online at ucdavisaggies.com.

CRUNCH NUMBERS HERE
Find out what is happening during every UC Davis men's basketball game via live stats. Links for every men's basketball home game are available by visiting UCDavisLiveStats.com. When the Aggies are on the road, check the men's basketball homepage at ucdavisaggies.com to find appropriate live stats links.

IT'S OK TO BE A FOLLOWER
Hoops fans can follow their favorite team, and all other Aggie intercollegiate athletics programs on Twitter at the handle @UCDavisAggies. In-game updates are also available on the department's secondary Twitter handle, @UCDavisInGame.

IF YOU CAN'T MAKE IT THERE, CLICK HERE
By accessing the link entitled "Live Stream Provided by BigWest.TV" on the sidebar of the men's basketball homepage on ucdavisaggies.com, fans can access a free video stream of every Big West Conference game involving UC Davis men's basketball this season. Nationally televised appearances, or games broadcasted by ESPN3, are the only exceptions.

LET'S PLAY TWO!
With all due respect to Ernie Banks, this catchphrase also applies to UC Davis basketball this season as the men and women will team up for three home doubleheaders this year.

When the men host Utah State (11/26) and Utah Valley (11/29), women's basketball will host Utah Valley (4:45 p.m.) and Pacific (4:30 p.m.) in respective matinée matchups. The final doubleheader will take place on Jan. 3, 2015, when the women host Menlo College at 2 p.m. before the men tip that evening against Cal Maritime.

Tipoff for all three men's basketball games are slated for 7 p.m. or 35 minutes after the end of the women's game, whichever is later.

AGGIE MEN'S BASKETBALL THANKS YOU
UC Davis men's basketball would like to thank all fans that participated in last weekend's holiday food drive. All canned and non-perishable items received will benefit the Yolo Food Bank.

'TIS THE SEASON
Men's basketball will also partner with Toys for Tots and organize its annual toy drive on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when San José State visits the Pavilion.

AN ALL-AGGIE AFFAIR
Five Division I school are nicknamed the Aggies, nearly half of that list will face one another Wednesday night when UC Davis hosts Utah State. North Carolina A&T, New Mexico State and Texas A&M are the other Aggie athletics programs that compete at the D-I level; Oklahoma Panhandle State University and Delaware Valley College also utilize the Aggies moniker, and are the only schools to do so at the Division II and Division III level respectively.

FOLLOW THE LEADER
Senior guard Corey Hawkins is the first Aggie to receive Player of the Week accolades from the Big West this season after leading his team to consecutive road victories.

Responsible for more than 40 percent of his team's offense - he scored a combined 49 of UC Davis' 118 points - Hawkins helped the Aggies defeat Eastern Illinois and Furman to preserve their first-place standing as the league's only undefeated team.

Against the Panthers, Hawkins finished 9 of 16 from the field, connected on 5 of 7 shots from three and scored the Aggies' final five points in their two-point win. Two days later, Hawkins' clutch free throw with five seconds remaining extended his team's lead to three, forcing the Paladins (who had zero timeouts remaining) to travel from one end of the court to the other before heaving a desperation three-point shot to force overtime - an attempt that landed nowhere near its intended target.

For the week, Hawkins shot 17-for-30 (.567 pct.) overall and 9-for-14 (.643 pct.) from three, averaged 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game.

IN CASE YOU WERE WONDERING
Last week's results also marked the first time that UC Davis collected consecutive road wins since March of 2013 when men's basketball ended its league slate by defeating UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton.

BLAST FROM THE PAST
Utah State, a current member of the Mountain West Conference, was a Big West school for 27 years before changing league affiliation. Throughout its 27-year tenure, USU's men's basketball program posted a 486-316 (.606) overall record and a 283-174 (.619) mark in league play. Current USU head coach Stew Morrill the head coach of the Aggies from 1998-2005 before Utah State switched conferences in 2006, won 167 of 221 overall games (.756) and 92 of 120 contests (.767) against conference foes.

THE CAPTAIN(S) OF THIS SHIP
Head coach Jim Les chose four student-athletes to represent the team as its captains this season, those players are seniors Corey Hawkins, Avery Johnson, Tyler Les and Josh Ritchart.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT FOR YEARS
This year's UC Davis senior class, comprised of guards Corey Hawkins, Avery Johnson, Tyler Les and swingman Josh Ritchart, are all fifth-year seniors. Hawkins and Johnson redshirted after transferring to UC Davis three and two years ago from Arizona State and San Francisco respectively; Les sat out last season as did Ritchart who received a medical redshirt after competing in a handful of games.

FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME
For the first time since the 1999-2000 season, UC Davis opened its season with a 3-0 record after recording consecutive wins versus Holy Names (11/16), at Eastern Illinois (11/20) and at Furman (11/22).

THAT WAS FAST
Last year, an injury-plagued season forced UC Davis to become creative with its active lineup. Because of this weekly challenge, the Aggies only won one road game - at Cal Poly, the 2013-14 Big West Conference Tournament champions and lone league representative at the NCAA Tournament.

In its first week of road games this year, the Aggies captured more road victories (2) than the entire 2013-14 campaign (1).

BACK WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
The Aggies' Nov. 20 game at Eastern Illinois served as a homecoming for three members of UC Davis men's basketball. Only 141 miles separated senior guard Tyler Les from his hometown of Peoria, Illinois, when the Aggies arrived to Eastern Illinois University. Also located in Peoria is Bradley University-head coach Jim Les' alma mater and the site of his first-ever collegiate head coaching opportunity.

A three-plus hour drive from Peoria is where you will find the birthplace of Justin Dueck as the junior forward was born in Chicago.

All three Aggies enjoyed their evening as UC Davis downed the host Panthers by two, collecting its first road victory of the year.

CALL HIM MR. WINDEX
In the Aggies' Nov. 16 season opener versus Holy Names, senior forward Josh Ritchart collected his 400th career rebound. He will enter Saturday's matchup at EIU with 403 boards - 162 shy of Chris Ferenz (1983-87) who is ranked No. 10 all-time with 565 rebounds.

WELCOME TO THE CENTURY CLUB
Also taking place in UC Davis inaugural game of the year was Tyler Les reaching another milestone. That evening, the senior guard finished with four assists to cross the 100 career assist mark.

In 2012-13, his last full season of action - he redshirted the 2013-14 campaign - Les earned a career high 50 assists.

ANOTHER MILESTONE? IN THE SAME NIGHT?
Even though he only scored five points in his inaugural game as a sophomore, that was all guard Brynton Lemar needed to record his 200th point as an Aggie. The San Diego native entered the Pavilion with 198 career points, and left two hours later with 203.

A TURKEY IN BASKETBALL?
By scooping up seven rebounds at Eastern Illinois, Corey Hawkins crossed the three hundred career rebound mark.

SENDING AGGIE FANS HOME HAPPY
For the second consecutive year, UC Davis faced Holy Names in its inaugural home game of the season. Including both double-digit victories against the Hawks, the Aggies have won 6 of 8 home openers since joining the Big West Conference (2007-08 season).

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Five of UC Davis' first eight games will take place inside the Pavilion. After its season opener against Holy Names, the Aggies will embark on a two-game road trip at Eastern Illinois (11/20) and Furman (11/22) before hosting their next three matchups against Utah State (11/26), Utah Valley (11/29) and San José State (12/3).

After a quick trip to Idaho (12/6), Eastern Illinois (12/9) will visit Davis before the student-athletes enjoy an 11-day hiatus due to finals.

UC DAVIS WELCOMES TWO NEW MEMBERS
Rogers Printup, a 6-foot-5 guard currently competing for Orange Lutheran High School, and Lawrence White, a 6-foot-3 guard in his second season at Antelope Valley College, each signed a National Letter of Intent and will join the UC Davis men's basketball team prior to the 2015-16 season.

Printup enters his final year at Orange Lutheran after posting career-best numbers as a junior. In addition to averaging 14.0 points, he also posted 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 steals per game to earn all-Trinity League accolades.

The Orange, California, native also added second team Junior all-State and all-CIF Division 1AA Southern Section honors to last year's awards haul.

In his inaugural season at AVC, White averaged 7.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. By shooting 48.3 percent overall, and 36.1 from three and helped his team end the 2013-14 season as the Western State Conference South champions - the first title of any kind captured by the program in six years.

White joined Antelope Valley men's basketball after a stellar career at John Burroughs High School. In his final season, Lawrence White posted team-high averages of 18.9 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.6 steals, 2.0 blocks per game and collected first team all-Pacific League accolades.

With White leading the way, the Indians reached the CIF playoffs for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

HELLO AMERICA!
Two UC Davis men's basketball games, with the potential for another four, will be broadcasted for fans across the country to watch. The Pac-12 Network will carry the Aggies' Dec. 28 contest at Washington State, ESPN3 will air UC Davis' game at UC Irvine on Feb. 5.

The Aggies are being considered in four "Wild Card" games throughout league play and will learn three weeks in advance if ESPN2 or ESPNU will pick up their road games at CSUN (Feb. 7) and/or Cal Poly (Feb. 28). Home games against Long Beach State (Jan. 10) and Cal Poly (Jan. 31) are on ESPNU's potential schedule for each respective evening. If not selected by ESPN2/U, Fox Sports Prime Ticket has the option of televising the UC Davis-Cal Poly contest.

ESPN's family of networks will also broadcast both semifinal and championship games at the Big West Tournament. Fox Sports Prime Ticket will carry all four Big West quarterfinal contests.

A TRUE (ALL-)AMERICAN
For the second time in as many seasons, senior guard Corey Hawkins was honored by CollegeInsider.com when the publication selected him for its annual preseason All-America candidate list for the Lou Henson Award, presented annually to the player of the year at the Division I mid-major level.

The 2015 Lou Henson Award recipient will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet on April 3 in Indianapolis, site of the 2015 Men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

YOU KNOW WHAT IS COMING AND YOU STILL CANNOT STOP HIM
Among all active Big West players, Tyler Les is ranked No. 2 with 150 three-point field goals. Even more remarkable is that 87 percent of his shots were taken from distance since the senior guard has 172 total field goal attempts to his credit throughout his three years at UC Davis.

HE'S THE BEST IN THE WEST
The Big West that is, as the league's media outlets selected senior guard Corey Hawkins to the conference's Preseason All-Conference Team for the second straight season.

Joining Hawkins on the BWC's Preseason All-Conference Team are Mike Caffey (Long Beach State), Isaac Fotu (Hawai'i), Stephen Maxwell (CSUN), Mamadou Ndiaye (UC Irvine) and Alan Williams (UCSB).

NBC SPORTS NAMES HAWKINS TO ITS ALL-BIG WEST TEAM
Senior guard Corey Hawkins was one of five Big West Conference men's basketball players recognized by NBC Sports when the network released its preseason all-Big West team. This is the second honor that Hawkins has received from NBC Sports as the outlet selected the Goodyear, Arizona, native as one of its mid-major All-Americans last season.

The two-time all-Big West selection was the only Aggie to start every game played; throughout his 30 appearances last season, Hawkins averaged a team-high 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. Even though opposing teams specifically focused their defensive efforts on Hawkins due to the slew of Aggies who were unable to play throughout an injury-plagued 2013-14 season, he was still able to post top 10 league averages.

In addition to posting the third-highest scoring figure among all Big West players (missing the second spot by only one-tenth of a point), he led the league in steals, averaging 1.47 per game, and finished his junior season ranked No. 6 in free throw percentage (.757) and No. 9 in assists (2.97).

THE BIG WEST ASKED AND THE FANS ANSWERED
In anticipation of the upcoming basketball season and the #MarchtoMarch, the Big West Conference asked fans to voice their opinion and choose their top five Big West guards.

After a week-long voting period, senior guard Corey Hawkins received one of the top five vote totals.

Hawkins has scored 1,108 points in his first two seasons as an Aggie, ranking No. 17 on the school's all-time list. He was the Big West scoring champion in 2012-13 and ranked No. 12 in the NCAA with 20.3 points per game.

SYPKENS SELECTED BY STAMPEDE IN NBA D-LEAGUE DRAFT
Ryan Sypkens will return to the U.S. and continue his career in the NBA Development League after the Idaho Stampede selected the UC Davis alum in the third round of this year's draft.

The most successful three-point shooter in the history of the Big West Conference will head to Boise just two weeks after ending his season with Aguilas de Tunja, a professional team that competes in Colombia's DirectTV Basketball League.

During his stint abroad, Sypkens helped lead Aguilas to a second-place finish with a 12-8 record. The native of Elk Grove shot 40 percent from the field, 42.4 pct. from three, averaged 11 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. A regular in Tunja's starting lineup, Sypkens earned plenty of playing time throughout the season and logged 28.1 minutes per game - one of the team's top marks.

GET YOUR PASSPORT READY
UC Davis men's basketball alum Paolo Mancasola signed a contract with Sport-Club Itzehoe. Located in Hamburg, Germany, Sport-Club Itzehoe is one of 25 teams in Germany's Pro B League.

Mancasola's signing took place shortly after former teammate Ryan Sypkens inked his first professional contract to compete for Aguilas de Tunja shortly after receiving his undergraduate degree. Located in Tunja, Boyacá, the Aguilas (Eagles) are one of 12 teams that compete in Colombia's DirecTV Basketball League.

During the same week Mancasola and Sypkens made their announcements, Mark Payne sighed with French club team Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket - one of 18 teams that compete in France's League Nationale de Basket Pro B.

Payne joined Châlons-Reims after enjoying his most successful season abroad. Last year, the 6-foot-8 swingman averaged 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for Greek club PAOK Thessaloniki.

PAOK Thessaloniki was the second Greek club in as many years to add Payne to its roster as the Stockton, California, native donned Panionios BC Athens' jersey for the 2012-13 season.

READING PROGRAM DRAWS RECORD NUMBERS
After successful campaigns in each of its first two seasons, over 20,000 students from 29 schools scattered throughout Sacramento and Yolo counties will participate in the UC Davis Men's Basketball Reading Program this season. Both figures are all-time highs.

Each participating student will receive a complimentary ticket to a UC Davis men's basketball home game this season, weekly player bios and videos, motivational posters and a monthly newsletter.

Teachers and administrators interested in signing up their school, or receiving additional information about the UC Davis Men's Basketball Reading Program, are encouraged to contact Director of Basketball Operations Mark Darnall by e-mail at medarnall@ucdavis.edu, or by phone at (530) 752-3501.

THE AGGIES' #MARCHTOMARCH
Honda Center and the Big West Conference have announced that all-session tickets for the 2015 Big West Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament are now on sale. All-session school reserved tickets will be available for $69.00. These seats will be located within a school's section and can be purchased through each institution's box office.

Premium all-session tickets located in the first four rows of seating will be available for $149.00. General admission all-session tickets are also available for $69.00. These seats can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com, all Ticketmaster retail outlets, or by calling 800-745-3000.

The 2015 Big West Tournament will be hosted for the fifth straight year at Honda Center in Anaheim. The men's tournament begins on Thursday, March 12 at Honda Center with four quarterfinal games.

The semifinals and championship games for both the men and women will take place Friday and Saturday at Honda Center.