Box Score

HONOLULU - UC Davis ended the first half with an 8-0 run, which turned a 10-point deficit into a one-basket margin at halftime during Saturday's Big West Conference game, in front of 9,289 fans at the Stan Sheriff Center, and the Aggies tied the score three times in the second half, but two scoring runs, which took place minutes apart from one another, helped the Rainbow Warriors escape with a 78-62 victory.

Josh Fox led all players with a career-high 25 points, on 10 of 15 shooting, nailed 5 of 8 attempts at the line, and led all Aggies with eight rebounds.

"I think he put us on his back, he just gives everyone else confidence with his strong starts" said UC Davis head coach Jim Les regarding Fox's influence on Saturday's game.

"Not only did he produce, but he was a leader. When something went awry, he brought the guys together, communicated well with everyone, and led by example. That's what you need from a veteran guy."

Brynton Lemar added another 12 points for UC Davis, and drained some clutch baskets throughout the second half to keep his team within striking distance before UH pulled away.

Lemar, who played all 20 minutes in the first half and all but one of the second, scored 10 of his points after halftime.

"I am not sure if I could have asked for much more from Brynton, Darius, and Josh with the way they battled and contributed throughout their minutes played," added Les.

UC Davis will return home for its next two games, starting with Wednesday's 7 p.m. tilt against the Cal State Fullerton Titans, with a 7-11 overall and 2-3 league record. Hawai'i improves to 14-1 at home, 16-2 overall and 5-0 against league teams with the result.

"These guys battled their tail off tonight ... I could not ask for much more. These guys gave me everything they had, I'll go to bat with this group anytime," said Les.

"For the most part, we handled their pressure well. We wanted to attack the paint, did that, and shot a good percentage. Give them credit, (Hawai'i) made some tough shots."

UC Davis scored 30 of its points in the paint, and posted a .511 overall shooting percentage by connecting on 24 of 47 field goal attempts.

Stefan Jankovich was one of three Rainbow Warriors who finished in double figures; he ended his night with a team-high 22 points. Quincy Smith and Isaac Fleming posted 18 and 13 points apiece.

Trailing 37-27 with 3:05 remaining, UC Davis' defense shut down UH for the final 3:05 of the first half. What started with a jumper from Siler Schneider continued with consecutive baskets and a free throw from Fox to complete his three-point play.

A heads-up play from Lemar sucked the energy out of the building and elicited a roar from everyone wearing UC Davis colors.

With just a handful of seconds remaining before the break, Lemar grabbed a rebound on Hawai'i's half of the court and raced to the other side as fast as he could to create one final look before halftime. Fouled with 1.9 seconds still on the clock, Lemar's free throw extended the Aggies' scoring run to eight unanswered.

By scoring the first basket in the opening seconds of the second half, the Aggies' pulled even with the Rainbow Warriors at 37 apiece, silencing a once-raucous crowd that was still reeling from what took place before halftime.

Both teams traded baskets throughout the following minutes until UH hit back-to-back threes, which broke a 41-41 tie. Another 8-3 Rainbow Warrior scoring run, which took place later that half, helped UH build a double-digit advantage that lasted until the final buzzer.

Added Les, "I told them how proud of the way they battled, and how then now played three of the toughest teams on the road. Now we have two in a row at home; we need to continue with the way we are playing at home and need to win some of our upcoming road games to move up in the standings."

HAWAI'I 78, UC DAVIS 62

UC DAVIS (7-11, 2-3 BWC)
Fox, Josh 10-15 5-8 25; Lemar, Brynton 5-7 1-2 12; Schneider, Siler 3-8 2-2 8; Monson, Neal 2-8 3-4 7; Graham, Darius 2-5 0-0 6; Goode, Garrison 2-2 0-0 4; Onyebalu, Michael 0-0 0-1 0; Printup, Rogers 0-2 0-0 0; Funtarov, Georgi 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-47 11-17 62.

HAWAI'I (16-2, 5-0 BWC)
Jankovic, Stefan 8-11 4-4 22; Smith, Quincy 6-11 4-7 18; Fleming, Isaac 5-9 0-0 13; Bobbitt, Roderick 2-6 4-4 9; Jovanovic, Stefan 1-1 4-4 6; Thomas, Mike 2-5 0-0 4; Tummala, Sai 1-2 0-0 3; Drammeh, Sheriff 1-2 0-0 3; Buscher, Zach 0-0 0-0 0; Stepteau, Brocke 0-0 0-0 0; Enos, Dyrbe 0-0 0-0 0; Filipovich, Niko 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-48 16-19 78.

UC Davis...................... 35 27 - 62
Hawai'i........................ 37 41 - 78

3-point goals--UC Davis 3-9 (Graham, Darius 2-3; Lemar, Brynton 1-1; Printup, Rogers 0-2; Schneider, Siler 0-3), Hawai'i 10-27 (Fleming, Isaac 3-6; Jankovic, Stefan 2-5; Smith, Quincy 2-4; Drammeh, Sheriff 1-2; Bobbitt, Roderick 1-5; Tummala, Sai 1-2; Filipovich, Niko 0-1; Thomas, Mike 0-2). Fouled out--UC Davis-Schneider, Siler, Hawai'i-None. Rebounds--UC Davis 20 (Fox, Josh 8), Hawai'i 25 (Jankovic, Stefan 8). Assists--UC Davis 9 (Graham, Darius 3; Fox, Josh 3), Hawai'i 17 (Bobbitt, Roderick 7). Total fouls--UC Davis 18, Hawai'i 18. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, Hawai'i-None. A-9289