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RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Joe Mooney scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half of Saturday's Big West season finale at the SRC Arena and Caleb Fuller finished with 18 points as the pair fueled the Aggies' second-half scoring effort against UC Riverside.
 
After Ezra Manjon hit a pair of free throws with 15 seconds remaining, which pulled the Aggies within one possession for the second time in the final minute, Aninze Chidom pushed the Highlanders' lead to the game's final score when he hit a pair at the line, which helped his team withstand UC Davis' second half comeback and escape with a 66-61 victory.
 
With tonight's league-wide results, the Aggies will now face Hawai'i for the second time in as many weeks in Thursday's 8:30 p.m. Big West Tournament quarterfinal. UC Davis will enter the postseason with a 14-18 overall record and 8-8 mark in league play; UC Riverside will head to Anaheim at 17-15 and 7-9.
 
With 7:57 left in the game, 10 of the Highlanders 22 field goals at that point of the night were scored from three. Rare was a clean look from behind the arc since UC Davis contested these attempts and forced their opponent to take tough shots —  which was one of three reasons why the the Ags trailed 54-37.
 
From the start of the game, leading into that under-8 timeout, the Aggies created clean looks at the basket and played aggressively. Those shots just did not fall as they were struck by poor luck for most of the evening.
 
UC Davis, the No. 1 free throw shooting team in the league, shot 90 percent from the line by making 9 of 10 attempts , but did not earn its first trip to the stripe until the 10:49 mark of the second half. For the final 7:57, the Aggies hit all eight free throws — part of their second-half comeback — and showed why they are a dangerous draw in next week's league playoffs by pulling within striking distance, thanks to an 18-4 run.
 
What started with two free throws and a jumper from Mooney continued with Fuller draining back-to-back threes, which quickly chopped a 19-point deficit to 11 with 5:09 remaining.
 
UC Riverside tried to end the Aggies' momentum by calling a timeout, but that was unsuccessful since UC Davis' run continued with two free throws from Elijah Pepper, another pair at the line  from Mooney, a three from Manjon and another jumper from Mooney.
 
Within 5:37 of game time, UC Davis turned a 19-point deficit into a three-point hole entering the game's final minute.
 
On the other end of the floor, the Aggies' defense forced the Highlanders to shoot 1-for-6 throughout that timespan until UC Davis forced them to win the game at the line since it was out of timeouts. 
 
In Thursday's other three Big West Tournament quarterfinals, Cal State Fullerton and CSUN will compete in the event's inaugural men's game (12 p.m. tipoff); UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara will close the afternoon session with its 2:30 p.m. matchup; Long Beach State and UC Irvine will square off at 6 p.m. in the opener of the evening session.
 
Friday's 6:30 p.m. semifinal will feature the highest remaining seed vs. the lowest remaining seed with the 9 p.m. matchup featuring the other two advancing teams.. The winners of Friday's games will battle for the league's NCAA Tournament automatic bid and a Big West Tournament title next Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
 
 
 
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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!