Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Paced by a game-high 20 points from Neal Monson and an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double from Josh Fox, UC Davis basketball team won its 12th straight home game against a Big West Conference opponent with its 66-52 victory over Cal Poly at the Pavilion on Saturday evening.

The Aggies also won their fifth straight over Cal Poly, upping their overall record to 9-11 overall and 4-3 in the Big West. David Nwaba had team-highs of 15 points and six rebounds for the Mustangs who fell to 8-12 and 2-5.

UC Davis has now won four of its last five games.

Monson matched a career high with his point total, set earlier this season against Holy Names -- UC Davis' final tune-up before the start of conference play. However, his 20 are the most points scored in a single game, against a Division I opponent as an Aggie. His previous Div. I career high took place in front of friends and family when UC Davis visited Utah Valley (located just a short drive away from Sandy, Utah, his hometown) last November.

Fox's double-double is the fourth of his career and second posted against a Big West opponent.

Brynton Lemar added 15 points for UC Davis and recorded his 12th double-figure scoring game this year.

In addition to shooting .456 overall (26-for-57), the Aggies posted a season-high .846 percentage at the free throw line by hitting 11 of 13 shots. Even though Cal Poly shot .431 itself overall, the Mustangs rarely generated a clean look from three and only hit 5 of 18 attempts.

UC Davis' defense frustrated Cal Poly from the opening tip, to the final buzzer, and forced the Mustangs to post a season-low scoring total. Before CP's 52-point night against the Aggies, it was held to 63 points at Saint Mary's, and Texas A&M during non-conference play.

As a team, Cal Poly entered the Pavilion averaging 76.3 points per game -- the league's second-highest total.

On the opposite end of the court, UC Davis' ball protection was phenomenal as it only turned the ball over a season-low six times.

Led by Fox's 10, all eight Aggies who played Saturday night finished two of more rebounds; as a team, UC Davis crushed the Mustangs on the glass, 35-26 overall and 11-5 while on offense.

"This team is grinding, one game at a time. They are grinding in practice, working hard in the weight room, and they are great kids. The character and integrity of this group is such that we, as a staff, want them to succeed because they deserve it with their approach," said UC Davis head coach Jim Les when asked by media in a postgame press conference about his team's secret to success.

Sparked by a 9-0 run to start the game, UC Davis never trailed Saturday and led by as many as nine points in the first half. The Aggies were up by just four with four minutes to go before scoring the game's final 10 points to provide the final margin.

The Aggies committed just six turnovers in the game and outrebounded the Mustangs, 35-26. They also held Cal Poly to a season-low point total.

UC Davis led 37-35 with 14:15 left in the second half but used a 7-0 run keyed by a 3-pointer and a layup from Lemar, and a Monson jumper, to push the lead to 44-35 near the midway point.

Jaylen Shead's layup with four minutes to go helped Cal Poly rally to within 56-52 but the Aggies clamped down defensively and forced the Mustangs to miss their final seven shots while making five of their final nine.

Compared to the Aggies, who scored the game's final 10 points, Cal Poly ended its evening on a four-minute scoring drought.

Monson scored twice in the game's first minute, Siler Schneider nailed a trey and Monson had a layup as UC Davis opened a quick 9-0 lead just over two minutes into the game. A 6-0 surge later in the half pushed the Aggie lead to 23-13 but the Mustangs scored nine of the final 12 points to only trail 31-28 at halftime.

Saturday's game marked the third wire-to-wire victory of the year for the Aggies.

UC Davis will go on the road to take on Cal State Fullerton next Thursday and UC Riverside next Saturday.

UC DAVIS 66, CAL POLY 52

CAL POLY (8-12, 2-5 BWC)
Nwaba, David 6-7 3-3 15; Bennett, Brian 5-11 0-0 10; Meikle, Luke 3-8 0-0 8; Shead, Jaylen 3-6 0-0 6; Shipley, Ridge 2-5 0-0 5; Morgan, Reese 1-6 0-0 3; Martin, Josh 1-4 0-2 3; Sutlive, Taylor 1-3 0-0 2; Gordon, Zach 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 3-5 52.

UC DAVIS (9-11, 4-3 BWC)
Monson, Neal 9-14 2-2 20; Fox, Josh 7-16 4-5 18; Lemar, Brynton 5-13 4-4 15; Graham, Darius 3-5 0-0 7; Schneider, Siler 1-6 1-2 4; White, Lawrence 1-3 0-0 2; Goode, Garrison 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-57 11-13 66.

Cal Poly....................... 28 24 - 52
UC Davis...................... 31 35 - 66

3-point goals--Cal Poly 5-18 (Meikle, Luke 2-4; Shipley, Ridge 1-3; Martin, Josh 1-2; Morgan, Reese 1-6; Sutlive, Taylor 0-2; Shead, Jaylen 0-1), UC Davis 3-10 (Schneider, Siler 1-1; Lemar, Brynton 1 4; Graham, Darius 1-3; White, Lawrence 0-1; Monson, Neal 0-1). Fouled out--Cal Poly-Gordon, Zach, UC Davis-None. Rebounds--Cal Poly 26 (Nwaba, David 6), UC Davis 35 (Fox, Josh 10). Assists-Cal Poly 10 (Shead, Jaylen 4), UC Davis 12 (Graham, Darius 3; Schneider, Siler 3; Fox, Josh 3). Total fouls--Cal Poly 16, UC Davis 11. Technical fouls--Cal Poly-None, UC Davis-None. A-1637

Second game of a UC Davis basketball doubleheader