Northidge, Calif. — Battling for the entire 40 minutes of play Wednesday night, the UC Davis Men's Basketball Team (9-7, 2-2) picked up their second consecutive victory and are now .500 in Big West play after defeating the CSUN Matadors, 62-54.
Opening the game with an 8-0 run, the Aggies struggled at times during the first half to find their rhythm. Behind the efforts from a couple Matadors in the form of Dionte Bostick and Ethan Igbanugo; who each finished the half with nine points; CSUN raced ahead with a 14-4 run of their own, and left the first half carrying a 31-28 lead over the Ags.
Even though the Matadors possessed the lead for most of the game, and UC Davis was without their starting point guard, Ty Johnson for the entire second half, the resilient Aggies made a concerted effort to find a way to pull out a victory. A big factor tonight for Jim Les' squad was crashing the glass. Out-rebounding the Matadors 42-24, the Aggies hauled in 20 offensive rebounds and made the most of their extra opportunities to score 16 second chance points on the night.
A benefactor in these second chance opportunities was Robby Beasley III who led UC Davis tonight with a Davis career-high, 23 points after drilling five three pointers and finishing 7-14 from the field. Right behind him was junior, Elijah Pepper who finished a rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 20 points and nine rebounds.
A gritty win for the Aggies, and a strong second half, it was evident for those in attendance of the continuous momentum shift as the buzzer drew near.
CSUN's color analyst Alan Zinsmeister painted a great picture of how the second half of the game went for UC Davis, "They are all up (off the bench) for their teammates […] they understand the importance of this game in the Big West. The tenacity and leaders of this team really stepped up."
UC Davis rallied behind clutch baskets from big-shot Kane Milling and game-high scorer, Beasley III before putting the game away with free-throws late to leave Northridge with a 62-54 win.
UP NEXT
UC Davis will turn their focus now to the Cal State Fullerton Titans. Returning back to Davis and the University Credit Union Center, The Aggies are scheduled to host the Titans at 2 P.M. PT. on Saturday, Jan. 14.
