Henderson, Nev. — A season full of battles, excitement, and historic milestones all came to an end Thursday night. The UC Davis Men's Basketball team concluded their 2022-23 season with a 68-52 loss in the Big West Championships at the hands of the UC Riverside Highlanders. Finishing the year 18-14, good for a sixth place finish in the regular season, the Aggies were snake bitten tonight by a bad showing from the field, and turnovers due to the physicality of UC Riverside's defense.
Finishing the game 18-53 from the field, and just 1-16 from three point range, the Aggies never got into rhythm on the offensive end. Leading UC Davis through the struggles was Elijah Pepper (22 points, 3 steals) and Leo DeBruhl (7 points, 7 rebounds).
UC Davis out rebounded UC Riverside 37-32 in the game. The Aggies had been 15-2 in games they held a rebound advantage before tonight. Even with this advantage, it was offset by the early turnovers that never allowed the offense to get going. Finishing the first half with 12 turnovers and 17 for the game, the extra possessions for UC Riverside allowed for Zyon Pullin to get to his spot all night and power the Highlanders.
Pullin (19 points) and Flynn Cameron (14 points) led the Highlanders as they flexed their depth all night which gave the Aggies trouble. UC Riverside played a great defensive game and added on to that by shooting greater than 50% from both the field and three.
Game Notes
» UC Davis lost despite a 37-32 rebounding advantage.
» The UC Davis defense forced 14 turnovers.
» UC Davis cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 11 offensive boards in the game.
» Elijah Pepper led the Aggies with a game-high 22 points.
» UC Davis got a team-high seven rebounds from Leo DeBruhl.
The Aggies end the season with many positives to take away and much to look forward to. Some season highlights include a win against Cal for the first time in school history, Elijah Pepper joining the 1,000 point club while breaking the 35 year old single-season scoring record in UC Davis history, three members receiving All-Big West honors, and multiple program defining wins like the double-overtime thriller against Long Beach State in the regular season finale.
