Missoula, MT. — Elijah Pepper scored a game-high 24 points to help lead the UC Davis men's basketball team past the North Dakota State Bison 68-53 at Dahlberg Arena Tuesday afternoon.
With his scoring contributions today, Pepper is now tied for second in program history for total career points, as he sits at 1,694 points, right alongside former Aggie great, Corey Hawkins. Pepper needs just 128 more points this season to become the program's all-time scoring leader.
His 24-point effort also gives him 20+ points in all four games to begin the season as the senior from Selah continues to prove he's amongst the best scorers in the country.
Pepper also added seven rebounds to his stat sheet to lead the Aggies (3-1). Ty Johnson delivered eight points and six rebounds off the bench while Niko Rocak chipped in with six points and two blocks.
Ade Adebayo was a force today as well, coming alive during the second half of play as he finished with seven points, and two blocks, with a pair of buckets late to help seal the deal.
UC Davis continued to assert their presence on the glass, grabbing 38 rebounds in Tuesday's game compared to North Dakota State's 28, led by Pepper's seven boards. The Aggies hit the offensive glass hard today, turning 18 rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
UC Davis' defense held North Dakota State to just 39.6 percent shooting from the field. The Aggies defense stayed discipline all-game and locked in on North Dakota State's Boden Skunberg limiting him to just 4-of-17 shooting in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 25-19, UC Davis went on an 8-0 run with 4:41 left in the first half to take a 27-25 lead. The Aggies then added seven points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 38-29 advantage. UC Davis took advantage of 11 offensive rebounds to score six second-chance points out of 38 total in the period.
The Aggies kept the rally going and took the lead for good on Johnson's layup with 01:09 left to grab the 68-53 victory. UC Davis shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting four shots from deep to score 12 of its 30 points. The Aggies concluded the game with a 9-20 showing from deep, converting 45% of their three-point attempts to swing the game in their favor.
GAME NOTES
» The Aggies hot shooting from three-point range contributed to 27 points as the Aggies knocked down nine of their 20 long-range attempts.
» The Aggies held the Bison to only 39.6 percent shooting from the field.
» UC Davis had a 38-28 edge on the boards in the win.
» The UC Davis defense forced 16 turnovers.
» The Aggies were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording eight blocks as a team.
» UC Davis cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 18 offensive boards in the game.
