FULLERTON, Calif. - UC Davis overcame a halftime deficit to lead late against Cal State Fullerton but fell 62-59 in Fullerton on Saturday evening.
The Aggies (12-10, 5-6) had two players score in double figures, led by Caleb Fuller, who had 18 points, five assists and two steals. Kane Milling added 14 points and seven rebounds and Elijah Pepper added eight points, 10 rebounds and two steals.
Trailing 32-23 at the half, UC Davis opened the second on a 10-2 run to pull within 34-33. After the Titans later went back up by six, UC Davis engineered an 8-1 run punctuated by a Milling three to lead 43-42 with 9:03 remaining. The Aggies then extended that to a 15-3 run and led 50-44 after a Christian Anigwe lay-up with 6:56 to go. Another three by Milling later increased the Aggie lead to 53-46 with 6:18 remaining.
Still leading by nine with 4:01 to go, Cal State Fullerton scored seven straight to pull within 55-53 and took the lead for good at 58-57 on a second chance jumper with 55 seconds to go.
UC Davis out-rebounded CSU Fullerton 37-32 in Saturday's game, led by Pepper's 10 boards. The Aggies also pulled down 11 offensive rebounds and scored nine second chance points.
UC Davis' defense held CSU Fullerton to only 39.6 percent shooting from the field, including 26.7 percent from beyond the arc. The Titans did not have much luck cleaning up their misses on the offensive glass either, as they finished with eight offensive rebounds and managed 12 second chance points while UC Davis cleared 26 defensive rebounds.
The night began with a bit of history for Ezra Manjon as the sophomore crossed the 1,000 career point mark with a lay-up at the 14:52 point of the first half. Manjon is just the fifth Aggie to get to 1,000 points in three seasons.
UC Davis will await the playoff seeding released by the Big West but will enter as the seventh seed and play at 8:30 p.m. in the second of the two first round games at the Big West Tournament in Henderson, Nev. on Mar. 8.
Game Notes
» The Aggies held the Titans to only 39.6 percent shooting from the field.
» The Aggies put on a passing clinic, recording an assist on 67 percent of made field goals.
» UC Davis had a 37-32 rebounding advantage.
» The UC Davis defense forced 14 turnovers.
