Davis, Calif. — Entering the night against CSUN, Aggie basketball had been mired by the drama from their most recent game against UC Santa Barbara. Despite this, the UC Davis Men's Basketball Team improved to 15-11 on the year and 8-6 in Big West play.
Jumping out to an early 6-0 run, it was CSUN's #5 Atin Wright willing the Matadors back into the game with a whopping 28 first half points. With the Matadors team only shooting 35.7% from the field for the first 20 minutes, it was Wright with a 8-14 showing from the field that kept CSUN alive early, accounting for 28 of their 34 first half points.
Wright would not stop there, as he ended up torching the nets for 42 points, the second highest tally among Big West players this season and finishing the night with seven three pointers.
A battle between two of the best scorers in the Big West early on, the conference's leading scorer Elijah Pepper stayed red hot. Earning himself moniker "red-hot chili Pepper," Eli poured in 20 points himself to pace the Aggies to their 39-34, first half lead.
His brilliant play would continue on into the second half with Pepper ending the night with 32 points, giving him his sixth straight game with 28+ points, and third straight 30+ point game. Tallying his 1,446th career point tonight, Eli now holds sole possession as the fifth leading scorer in Aggie history.
Lost in the scoring battle, UC Davis had contributions from all over with Kane Milling, adding 15 points and Leo DeBruhl making a spot-start for the suspended Ty Johnson, putting up eight points, and six rebounds.
Another star for UC Davis was Christian Anigwe. Slowly returning to form, Christian had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, good for his second of the season.
With Anigwe controlling the glass for the Aggies, UC Davis moves to 13-2 when out rebounding their opponents.
With rebounding being a key for Coach Les earlier in the week, it has proved to be a tipping point in the always physical, Big West.
GAME NOTES
- The Aggies won the rebound battle 42-34.
- Finishing the game 25-57 (43.9%) from the field, UC Davis benefitted from a 8-16 (50%) display from behind the arc.
- Benefitting from extra possessions, UC Davis had 14 second chance points, opposed to CSUN's four.
- Playing with pace, UC Davis keeps building their resume as one of the bets fast break teams in the country with 17 fast break points against the Matadors.
- Moving the ball, UC Davis ended the night with 11 assists as Anigwe and Milling each led with three a piece.
UP NEXT
On Saturday, UC Davis will hit the road and take on the UC Irvine Anteaters, who are fresh off a win against top dogs, UC Santa Barbara. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 P.M. at Bren Events Center.
