Davis, Calif. — In possibly one of the greatest comebacks in UC Davis Men's Basketball history, the Aggies were able to storm back with a 15-0 run during the final 4:23 and defeat the visiting Cal Poly Mustangs, 65-63. Capping off a game-high 21 point night, Ty Johnson delivered the game-winning bucket driving to the hole and converting a layup with just eight seconds remaining. With barely any time left, Cal Poly's Kobe Sanders would storm down the court but was eventually met at the rim by Christian Anigwe who denied any chance of the game going into overtime with an emphatic block.
UC Davis Men's Basketball improves to 12-8 on the season and are now 5-3 in the Big West. Cal Poly records their seventh straight loss and drops to 7-13 on the year and find themselves near the bottom of the Big West with a record of 1-7.
After a historically slow start for the Aggies which saw them only score 20 points on an abysmal 25.93% from the field, Jim Les' team never gave in. Even with the slow start, it was one of the more balanced scoring distributions of the year for UC Davis as four members reached double figures. Not normally known for his scoring, Ade Adebayo might have came through with the most important 11 points of his career. Going a perfect 5-5 from the field, UC Davis improves to 5-0 in games he has recorded a point in during Big West play.
Rounding out the crew of double figure scorers was marksman Robby Beasley III with 13 points as he drilled three, three-pointers, while Elijah Pepper made his presence known from the free throw line and finished the night with 14 points.
A tale of two different halves, the Aggies shot a blistering 59.26% from the field in the second half and were fueled by raised defense intensity which led to the Aggies dictating the pace of play. Getting out in transition has been an emphasis all season, and once the Aggies were able to string together some stops behind Johnson with his four steals, UC Davis capitalized on the 20 Mustang turnovers.
Dominating the paint and getting downhill after creating a staggering seven turnovers in the final 4:49 of play, UC Davis was able to pull of the near impossible. Leading for only 46 seconds throughout the game, it was all the Aggie would need to find themselves back in the win column.
GAME NOTES
- Ty Johnson was the highlight for UC Davis. He finished with 21 points, four steals, two blocks, 3 assists on 50% shooting from the field.
- UC Davis finished with 34 points in the paint compared to Cal Poly's 18.
- The Aggies had 23 points off turnovers.
- Robby Beasley III was responsible for every Aggies three pointer in the game.
- Alimamy Koroma led Cal Poly with 14 points on 6-7 from the field.
- Battling through pain, Elijah Pepper reeled in a game-high 8 rebounds.
- The Aggies scored 45 points in the second half after scoring just 20 in the first half to cap off their huge comeback.
UP NEXT
- The Aggies are back in action Thursday, Jan. 26 on the road as they play CSU Bakersfield. The Aggies play two road games next week as they also have a clash with Long Beach State following their game against the Roadrunners, a week from today.
- Tip-off next Thursday against CSU Bakersfield is set for 7 P.M. PT and can be streamed on ESPN+.
