WHO: Portland State Pilots
WHEN: Dec. 22, 2 p.m.
WHERE: Davis, Calif.
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OPENING TIP
UC Davis enters Wednesday's non-conference finale riding a four-game win streak and a surge of momentum that's coming at the right time. 

Though the final score of Dec. 19's game at Pacific was 77-67, the Aggies led by as many as 26 in that game as Elijah Pepper scored 25 and Ezra Manjon added 20 to lead UC Davis past the Tigers for the second time this month. 

It was the first time this season that UC Davis' dyanmic duo of Pepper and Manjon have scored 20 points each in the same game.

The Aggies led nearly wire-to-wire with Pacific tying the game at two with 18:55 left in the first half but that was the closest the Tigers came to unseating the Aggies. 

UC Davis had four players score in double figures for the second time this season and the first time since a season-opening win over Utah State on Nov. 9. 

The Aggies have shot over 50 percent from the field in three straight games and cleaned up what was one of their most significant sore spots during the first month of the season: rebounding. 

After not winning the rebounding battle once during November, the Aggies have done it three times in their last four games by an average of just under eight rebounds per game. The only time during this four-game win streak the Aggies have not won the rebounding battle was when they were minus-one against an Oregon State team that featured just two players under 6-2 and two over 7-0. 

Wednesday's game will round out the non-conference portion of the Aggies' schedule with Big West play currently slated to begin on Dec. 28 at home against UC Riverside. 

Series Record vs. Portland
Portland leads 1-5
Last Portland win: 11/23/19, H - W, 63-79
Last UC Davis win: 11/15/15, H - W, 79-66
Series Streak: Portland +1

AWARDS SEASON
Manjon had himself a week to remember last week against Oregon State and Pacific. 

The electric sophomore led UC Davis to wins over both with a career-high 27 against Oregon State and put in 20 against Pacific. 

That netted him the Lou Henson National Player of the Week award from College Insider on Monday and Big West Player of the Week honors later in the day. 

Manjon and Elijah Pepper are the only teammates to win Big West Player of the Week this season. 

TEAM EFFORT 
UC Davis is knocking on the door of replicating a rare feat they accomplished last season. 

The 2020-21 season marked the first time since 2008-09 that the Aggies had four players average double figures scoring. The 2021-22 Aggies currently have three with Caleb Fuller at 9.9 points per game. 

The 2008-09 Aggies were led by Vince Oliver, the brother of current Director of Basketball Operations Ryan Oliver, with 15.6 points per game. 

CAREER WATCH LISTS
Manjon is also within striking distance of a career milestone in his third NCAA season. 

At 793 points, Manjon needs 207 more to reach 1,000 career points. Manjon's career-high point total for a single season came in 2019-20 when he scored 388 points behind Aggie great Joe Mooney's 419. That season Manjon had 116 points through nine games while he has 125 in that same span in 2021-22. 

Pepper is the next closest Aggie at 682 career points. His career-high of 278 also came in 2019-20, though Pepper is already nearly halfway to that total this season. Through nine games, Pepper has 140 and is averaging a career-high 15.6 points per game. 

23 Aggies have reached the 1,000 point milestone with the last being Siler Scheider scoring 1,440 from 2015-19. Should Manjon reach that mark this season, he would be one of just five Aggies to score 1,000 points or more in their first three seasons. 

DYNAMIC DUO
Pepper and Manjon are the two highest ranking teammates on the Big West scoring list with Pepper coming in at 4th with 15.6 points per game and Manjon 6th at 13.9. 

No other team in the Big West Conference has two players higher than both in the top nine in scoring. 

KEYS TO SUCCESS
There have been a number of positives to take away from UC Davis' current four-game win streak but a big reason for it has been the Aggies' improvement shooting the ball. 

UC Davis is shooting 53 percent over it's last two games while allowing opponents to shoot just 38.7 percent over the three games. 

THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED
You'd have to go back to 2017 for the last time UC Davis defeated a PAC-12 team prior to Tuesday night at Oregon State. 

The Aggies took down Washington State 81-67 in Pullman on Dec. 2, 2017. TJ Shorts II scored 20 points as the Aggies jumped out to a 42-25 first half lead on the Cougars. 

IMPROVEMENT ON THE GLASS
Dec. 1's win marked the first time this season UC Davis has won the rebounding battle, outworking Pacific on the glass 34-24. More importantly, the Aggies pulled down eight offensive rebounds that led to seven second chance points compared to four offensive boards and two second chance points for Pacific. 

UC Davis went on to outrebound UC Merced 37-21 on Dec. 4. Despite giving up a significant size advantage to Oregon State, the Aggies were only outrebounded 32-33 against the Beavers with guards accounting for 24 of those rebounds. 

With Dec. 19's plus-six advantage against Pacific, the Aggies are averaging a plus-eight rebounding advantage over their last four games. 

PEPPER HEATS UP
Elijah Pepper became one of just two Big West players to score 30 points or more on Dec. 1. Following that night's games, he was fourth in the conference in scoring at 16.2 per game. His six made threes against Pacific are tied for the most in a single game in the Big West this season.

CONFERENCE LEADERS
Pepper continues to rank highly in the conference in steals at 1.6 per game for second with Manjon close behind in fifth at 1.4 per game. As a team, UC Davis is fourth in the Big West at seven steals per game. 

Forward Christian Anigwe is fourth in the Big West in blocks with 1.1 per game. 

Pepper is also third in the conference in three pointers per game with 2.3. 

A SEASON OF FIRSTS
With the Aggies' non-conference schedule quickly winding down, it's also been a preseason of firsts for UC Davis in terms of their opponents. 

The Aggies started the season with an exhibition at William Jessup in Rocklin, Calif., the first NCAA Division I team to visit the NAIA school's campus due to the teams playing for charity to benefit the Red Cross and Dixie fire victims. 
Two games later, UC Davis played Pepperdine for the first time in school history. After Sunday against Academy of Art, the Aggies will also see UC Merced for the first time ever on Dec. 4. 

On Dec. 14, UC Davis will travel to Oregon State for just the second meeting all-time with the Beavers. 

PORTLAND AT A GLANCE
Portland enter at 8-6 but in the midst of a three-game losing streak. 

The Pilots have four players averaging double figures this season behind guard/forward Tyler Robertson. Robertson is averaging 15.8 points and shooting a remarkable 41-44 at the free throw line. He also has 48 assists and leads Portland with 6.6 rebounds per game. In fact, as a team Portland is shooting 81.4 percent from the line and getting there almost 17 times per game. 

Robertson is followed closely by guard Chris Austin with 15.4 points per game. 

Wednesday is also Portland's last non-conference game and it will have an even longer layoff than the Aggies before starting its West Coast Conference schedule on Jan. 1. 

Two of the Pilots' last three losses have come by double digits with the exception of a 59-61 loss at Montana State on Dec. 19. 

300
With Nov. 12's win over Eastern Washington, head coach Jim Les earned the 300th win of his collegiate career. 

Les also coached in his 600th career game at Utah State. 

Les compiled the first 154 wins of his career at Bradley, his alma mater. He has 146 wins at UC Davis since 2011.