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JONESBORO, Ark. – Caleb Fuller led UC Davis' trio of double-digit scorers by finishing with a career-high 18 points in Thursday's tournament opener at the Red Wolves Classic in Jonesboro, Ark.,
Joe Mooney scored 14 of his 16 points after halftime, and the final two of
Ezra Manjon's 17 points provided the perfect ending for the Aggies' second-half comeback because his layup lifted UC Davis to a 65-64 victory.
The Vandals did have the last possession with five seconds remaining following Manjon's final field goal, but it was
Ade Adebayo's outstanding defense outside the three-point arc that prevented them from even creating a clean look at the basket as the buzzer sounded.
UC Davis will return to First National Bank Arena Friday night to face Arkansas State in a 5:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. CT matchup, and enters that game with a 2-1 record. Idaho will continue its weekend at 1-2.
"I just thought we fought a little bit harder, we made plays without the ball," said head coach
Jim Les regarding his team's come-from-behind victory. "We were the ones to the first rebound, deflected the ball, hit the floor and took some charges ... it is amazing how when you do those kinds of things, the ball finds the basket on the other end.
"This team refused to lose."
Even though Idaho jumped out to a 12-point lead early in the half, the Aggies began chipping away at their deficit, and trimmed it to five right before halftime until the Vandals hit a desperation three at the buzzer to bump its lead to eight at the break.
That was the last highlight of the night for the Vandals because UC Davis' trademark defense frustrated them for the rest of the game.
Hustle plays from
Elijah Pepper, Adebayo and the rest of the Aggies forced Idaho to turn the ball over eight times throughout the second half, which led to 18 points on the other end of the court.
"I cannot say enough about the contributions from the young guys. Ade's length did not allow a good shooter to get a look; Elijah's defense throughout the entire game was great. He didn't score like he is capable of, we needed him on the defense end and he bought in. Ezra played with poise offensively and made some plays defensively."
Les continued, "Caleb kept us in the game with his offense, and made some big plays down the stretch and came up with some huge rebounds."
Once Mooney knocked connected from three before the under-eight timeout, and once again after play resumed, UC Davis trailed by only one point and possessed all the momentum entering the game's final minutes.
Idaho's last basket was made with 7:17 left to play as its final six points were earned at the free throw line.
Including the game-winner from Manjon, the Aggies shot .517 from the floor in the second half by connecting on 15 of 29 attempts.
In addition to Greg Wong's call on Money 105.5 FM, links for
live stats, an
internet audio broadcast and
Facebook Live stream of tomorrow night's game are available at UCDavisAggies.com.
TOGETHER, WE CAN ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING
Directly impact the lives of potential, and current UC Davis basketball student-athletes, by joining the Aggie Round Table.
With support from this select group of insiders, the men's basketball program can expand its recruiting efforts to find prospects who will thrive at the fifth-ranked public school in the nation, compete at a championship level and represent the University in a first-class manner as one of its ambassadors.
Contact
Liz Martin (Assistant Athletics Director, Leadership Giving & Alumni Engagement) at (530) 574-8623 or
emartin@ucdavis.edu to find out how you can join this exclusive club!
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley.
The No. 5-ranked public university in the nation, according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.
