Davis, Calif. — Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson combined for 43 points tonight, but the UC Davis men's basketball team fell to the Sacramento State Hornets 69-63 at home Sunday evening in the 121st meeting between the programs.
The Aggies (3-2) were led by the aforementioned Pepper, who had 22 points, six rebounds and three steals, and Johnson, who tacked on 21 points, four assists and two steals.
The UC Davis offense found a lot of their success tonight from beyond the arc, pouring in 10 threes on 25 attempts. Leading the charge was Pepper, draining six treys in the contest, with three coming in each half.
The Aggie defense stood out as well as they continued to create havoc, forcing 22 Sacramento State turnovers. After tonight's effort, the Aggies now rank eighth in the country in turnovers forced. Those takeaways tonight turned into 20 points on the other end of the floor.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Davis started out the scoring by going on an 8-0 run, culminating in a three from Pepper, to take an early lead with 18:07 left in the first half. After a blistering start for the Aggies, the Hornets clawed their way back into the contest, going on a run of their own to take an 11-10 lead. After this point, the action would proceed to go back and forth with free-throw points dictating much of the middle portion scoring. Eventually the Aggies would enter halftime with a 29-26 advantage. UC Davis also relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down five shots to account for 15 of its 29 points.
In the second half the game would continue to be a battle with each team trading buckets until the Hornets proceeded to take a 52-46 lead. Not going away quietly, UC Davis went on an 8-0 run, finished off by a Johnson jumper, to seize a 54-52 lead with 8:03 to go in the contest. Sacramento State weathered the storm and ended up outscoring the Aggies 17-9 the rest of the way to hand UC Davis the 69-63 loss.
GAME NOTES
» The Aggies shot well from three point range, knocking down 10 of 25 long range attempts.
» The UC Davis defense forced 22 turnovers.
» Elijah Pepper had a game-high 22 points and Ty Johnson added 21.
» UC Davis got six rebounds from both Elijah Pepper and Ade Adebayo.
» Pepper's three steals led the way individually for the Aggies.
» The Aggies recorded 11 fast break points
UP NEXT
UC Davis will turn their sights onto Oregon State, as the Aggies travel to Corvallis for a Nov. 30 showdown with the Beavers. Tip-off for that contest is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT.
