Reno, NV. — The UC Davis men's basketball team fell to the host Wolf Pack 80-68 on the road Wednesday night at Lawlor Events Center.
Elijah Pepper collected 20 points for the sixth time this season while also adding six rebounds to lead the Aggies (3-4). Kane Milling turned in his best performance of his season with a 16 point, six rebound and two steal outing in his return to his former school. The duo of Pepper and Milling combined to score 27 points from beyond the arc.
Ty Johnson was the next leading scorer for UC Davis, nearly missing out on double-figures scoring, as he added nine points and four assists. Johnson supplemented his stat line with a pair of acrobatic finishes that highlighted his night.
Francesco Borra pulled down two offensive rebounds in his first start of the season to lead the UC Davis offense which grabbed 10 boards and turned them into five second chance points.
UC Davis' defense did a great job disrupting the Wolf Pack shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Niko Rocak led the way individually for the Aggies with three rejections. In addition to the five blocks, the Aggies forced the Wolf Pack into 10 turnovers as a team, after they entered the contest with the lowest turnover rate in all of the NCAA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After playing to a 17-17 tie full of back and forth action, UC Davis went on a 6-0 run with 8:38 left in the first half, with a three from Milling, catapulting the Aggies to a 23-17 lead. The Wolf Pack clawed their way back into the game from the charity stripe, with the Aggies ultimately entering halftime down 29-27.
After the intermission, UC Davis kept the Wolf Pack from increasing their lead before going on a 6-0 run to take back a 37-33 lead with 16:17 to go in the contest. UC Davis shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting six shots from deep to score 18 of its 41 points. Even with this perimeter scoring from the Aggies, the Wolf Pack re-asserted control, outscoring the Aggies 47-31 powered behind Kenan Blackshear's 25 points to hand UC Davis the 80-68 loss.
GAME NOTES
» The Aggies shot well from three point range, knocking down 10 of 24 long range attempts.
» Pepper and Milling combined to score 27 points from the three point line.
» 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 10 offensive boards in the game.
» Elijah Pepper led the Aggies with 20 points.
» UC Davis got six rebounds from both Elijah Pepper and Kane Milling.
» UC Davis was narrowly edged out in the rebound battle, 31-36.
» The Aggies shot 14 free throws compared the the Wolf Pack's 44.
» UC Davis had 14 assists as a team with Johnson leading the Aggies with four.
