FULLERTON, Calif. — The UC Davis men's basketball team went into the halftime break trailing Cal State Fullerton 35-26, but rallied from the deficit in the second half to defeat the Titans 67-65 on the road Thursday night at Titan Gym. UC Davis improves to 6-1 in Big West play, with wins in seven of their last eight games.
The Aggies (11-7, 6-1) had three players score in double figures, led by Elijah Pepper, who recorded a double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds. This is Pepper's first double-double of the season and his sixth of his decorated career.
Pepper with his 27 point effort, now just needs four more points to reach 2,000 career points. There have been only 662 players in Division I basketball history to reach the milestone based on data from Sports Reference.
Ty Johnson added 14 points and four steals and
Niko Rocak chipped in as well with 11 points.
Johnson delivered a clutch three-pointer late into the contest, capping off a 6-0 run from the Aggies to take a one-point lead. Johnson's bucket also capped off his amazing second-half performance, as he scored all 14 of his points tonight in the second half to help steer the Aggies comeback.
UC Davis' defense continued to show why they are one of the best units in the Big West, holding the Titans to just a 38 percent showing from the field. The Aggies also forced the Titans to turn it over 15 times tonight, leading to 16 points on the other end for the Aggies.
UC Davis used this defensive success tonight to help in their transition offense. The Aggies made a concerted effort to get out on the break, scoring 15 fast break points while limiting the Titans to only seven points in transition.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 2-0, UC Davis went on a 7-0 run with 18:56 left in the first half to take a 7-2 lead. The Aggies then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 35-26.
UC Davis narrowed its deficit to 60-55 before going on a 6-0 run, finished off by the aforementioned three-pointer from Johnson to take a 61-60 lead late with 1:58 to go in the contest. The Aggies would go on and trade free throws with the Titans during closing time, eventually expanding the margin and securing the 67-65 win.
GAME NOTES
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Elijah Pepper notched an impressive double-double for the Aggies with 27 points and 10 rebounds.
» UC Davis rallied from a nine-point 35-26 halftime deficit to pick up the win. The Aggies largest deficit tonight was 11 points.
» The Aggies held the Titans to only 38 percent shooting from the field.
» The UC Davis defense forced 15 turnovers.
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Elijah Pepper led the Aggies with a game-high 27 points.
» UC Davis got a game-high 10 rebounds from
Elijah Pepper.
