Missoula, MT. — Elijah Pepper tied for a game-high 23 points, but the UC Davis men's basketball team fell to the Montana Grizzlies 78-65 on the road Sunday, giving the Aggies their first loss of the season.

Pepper added six rebounds to go along with his 23 points to lead the Aggies (2-1). Leo DeBruhl gave the Aggies some real quality minutes tonight, providing UC Davis with an efficient 11 points, three assists, and two steals. Ade Adebayo chipped in with eight points, six rebounds in addition to his defensive efforts where he posted one steal and one block.

UC Davis out-rebounded Montana 32-27 in Sunday's game, led by Pepper's six boards. The Aggies also grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and scored 18 second chance points.

UC Davis did a great job disrupting Montana shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Kane Milling led the way individually for the Aggies with three rejections.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Pepper got off to a hot-start, reaching double-figures less than seven minutes into the action. Even with the strong scoring presence from Pepper, the Aggies would fall behind 42-32 heading into halftime.

UC Davis narrowed its deficit to 44-37 before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by Pepper's jumper, to shrink the deficit to 44-43 with 15:50 to go in the contest. Able to weather the storm, Montana responded and outscored the Aggies the rest of the way not giving up their lead, and ending the game with a final score of 78-65.

GAME NOTES
» UC Davis held a 32-27 rebounding advantage.
» The Aggies were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying five blocks as a team.
» UC Davis cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 11 offensive boards in the game.
» Pepper led the Aggies with 23 points.
» Pepper has now reached 20+ points in all three games to begin the season
» UC Davis got six rebounds from both Elijah Pepper and Ade Adebayo.

UP NEXT
The Aggies conclude their trip to Montana with a game Tuesday against North Dakota State at 1:00 p.m. (PT).