Davis, Calif. — The UC Davis men's basketball team stunned Pepperdine Thursday night after Ty Johnson delivered a buzzer-beating layup to give the Aggies a 79-78 victory over the Waves after erasing a 19-point deficit in the second half. Johnson's heroics capped off a remarkable comeback as the junior from Chicago scored a game-high 28 points, with 24 of those points coming in the second half.
The Aggies (2-0) had two players score in double figures, led by Johnson, who poured in his 28 points on an 11-18 shooting performance from the field while also adding three steals. Elijah Pepper tacked on 24 points, shooting a perfect 2-2 from three point range. The duo combined for 52 points tonight, and 38 of the Aggies' 48 second half points.
Kane Milling also added eight points, six rebounds and a game-high four steals to contribute on both ends of the court.
UC Davis forced 19 Pepperdine turnovers and used a three-plus minute stretch of limiting the Waves to no points to climb back into the ballgame. The Aggies turned all these takeaways into 24 points on the offensive end of the floor in the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UC Davis struggled out of the gate, falling behind 48-31 heading into halftime. Shooting just under 35% from the field in the first half, the Aggies would completely turn this around in the second half, shooting a blistering 72% from the field after at one point, converting on 10 straight field goal attempts.
UC Davis narrowed its deficit to 69-59 before going on a 7-0 run to shrink the deficit to 69-66 with 4:36 to go in the contest. The Aggies kept the rally going and took the lead for good on Johnson's game-winner. UC Davis took care of business in the paint, recording 28 of its 48 points in the lane.
GAME NOTES
» Johnson hit a buzzer beater with less than one second left.
» UC Davis rallied from a 17-point 48-31 halftime deficit to pick up the win.
» The UC Davis defense forced 19 turnovers.
» Ty Johnson had a game-high 28 points and Elijah Pepper added 24.
» UC Davis got six rebounds from both Ade Adebayo and Kane Milling.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will hit the road and head to Missoula for the Montana MTE, as they face off against Montana (Nov. 12), and North Dakota State (Nov. 14).
