Milwaukee, Wisc. — A heartbreaking loss to host Milwaukee spoiled multiple Aggie highlights today as the Aggies dropped Saturday's contest by a score of 87-85.
PEPPER MILESTONE ACHIEVED
After coming into today's contest with 989 points, Elijah Pepper was able to etch his name into the Aggie record books. After knocking down a free-throw in the second half to give him his 11th points in the game, Pepper became just the 25th Aggie ever to record 1,000 career points scored. He also became just the 10th ever to do it during the Division 1 Era for UC Davis Men's Basketball.
Pepper finished the game with 17 points on 5-12 shooting from the field while going 3-5 from three. It took junior from Selah, Washington just 79 games to reach 1,000 career points and he has done so in an efficient manner every step of the way. Pepper has increased his scoring average every year and will continue climbing up the all-time scoring list in pursuit of Audwin Thomas, the all-time leading scorer in Aggie history, and Corey Hawkins, the top Division 1 Era scorer in Davis history.
JOHNSON'S CAREER GAME
Pacing the Aggies in the contest was Ty Johnson, the transfer from Chicago, who ended with a career and game-high 32 points. Johnson was on a mission the entire day and got off to a blistering start after going a perfect 6-6 from the field in the first half. His torrid play would continue into the second half with Johnson finishing the night on an uber-efficient 12-17 from the field and hitting on 3-6 from the three point line. Johnson impacted the game for all 30 minutes he played after almost finishing with a double-double as he tallied a staggering eight steals. Channeling his inner Jose Alverado, Johnson posted the second highest ever steal total in a game in Aggie history, tying past marks set by Mark Payne, and Chris Familletti. Johnson also chipped in with six rebounds and two assists.
GAME NOTES
Contributing on a nightly basis, Christian Anigwe was yet again, his steady-self. Anigwe finished with 15 points on a 6-12 FG night and was one rebound away from his second double-double of the year as he finished with nine rebounds.
In the high-paced battle, seemingly the deciding factor for the Panthers was their marksmanship from downtown. Milwaukee finished a remarkable 10-16 from the three-point line in comparison to the Aggies who were just 7-23 from three. The Panthers were also able to get huge minutes from multiple bench players as they finished the game with 57 points off the bench.
UC Davis shot 51% from the field for the game and outrebounded the Panthers 37-31. The Aggies found a ton of success with their paint touches after scoring 44 points in the paint, and utilized their pace yet again to score 22 fastbreak points.
NEXT UP
UC Davis continues their play at the Cream City Classic tomorrow at Klotsche Center with a matchup against SEMO scheduled for tip-off at 10 A.M. PT. The game will be streamed on YouTube, aired on the radio, and can be followed along with using Live Stats.