Los Angeles, Calif. — After starting out 2-0 for the second consecutive season, UC Davis Men's Basketball suffered their first defeat of the season after a battle in Los Angeles with LMU that ended with the Lions on top by a score of 85-75. The Lions spoiled a career-high tying 32 point effort in Elijah Pepper's return and improve to 2-1 on the season themselves. The Aggies move to 2-1 on the season as well and will look to bounce back next time out against Arkansas State.
 

Welcome back Pep! He has 32 points with 2 minutes remaining left in this battle.#GoAgs pic.twitter.com/GK9glCXCib

— UC Davis Men's Basketball (@ucdavismbb) November 13, 2022

• LMU capitalized on Aggie miscues and recorded seven steals on the night, scoring 17 points off turnovers.
• Elijah Pepper's return to the Aggie lineup did not disappoint as the junior guard poured in 32 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and dished out two assists while knocking down four three-pointers in the process. His 32 points tonight tied a career high of his which he set against Long Beach State back on Feb. 13, 2021.
• LMU limited the Aggie fast break attempts all night and held UC Davis to only four points in transition; far below their recent outputs in the two previous contests.
• Hot start for the Lions was something the Aggies never recovered, as UC Davis failed to lead at any point during the contest.
• The Lions had four members reach double figures; Cam Shelton led the way with 24, and Keli Leaupepe chipped in a double-double himself with a 16 point, 12 rebound stat line.
• Leo DeBruhl led the Ags in assists for the third straight game with three on the night and was the only member to record a positive box +/-.
• LMU outscored UC Davis in the paint 36-30 and had 13 offensive rebounds to UC Davis' 8.

UP NEXT

• UC Davis Men's Basketball returns back to action on Friday, Nov. 18 at the University Credit Union Center as Arkansas State visits Davis with tip-off set for 6 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and tickets for that night can be found here.