DAVIS, Calif. — The UC Davis men's basketball team fell to the UC San Diego Tritons 92-59 at home on Saturday.
The Aggies (12-8, 7-2) had two players score in double figures, led by Ty Johnson, who had 22 points. Elijah Pepper also added 13 points and four steals, while Pablo Tamba and Leo DeBruhl each added seven points apiece.
A strong end to the first half saw the Aggies enter the final 20 minutes of action trailing by just two points, with the score settled at 38-36 in favor of the Tritons. In the half, the Aggies made up some ground offensively by finding success from the in-between area of the court, at one point going on a 16-7 run to bring the game back within striking distance.
The Aggies seemingly carried this momentum into the second half after a Pepper three-pointer kicked off the scoring in the second half and gave the Aggies their first lead of the game. That lead would hold for only a moment, as the game completely flipped momentum the rest of the way down the stretch. The hot-shooting Tritons zapped the energy out of the University Credit Union Center, going 15-32 from three-point range, with 10 of those makes coming in the second half to silence those in attendance.
For UC San Diego in this one, four Tritons reached double figures, with Bryce Pope leading the way, pouring in a game-high 29 points. Tyler McGhie, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, and J'Raan Brooks each filled out the rest of the Triton double figure scoring.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 29-18, UC Davis went on a 6-0 run with 5:41 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Pepper, to narrow its deficit to 29-24. The Aggies continued to close the gap, cutting the UC San Diego lead to 38-36 by the end of the first half.
After the aforementioned three by Pepper gave the Aggies a lead to begin the second half, J'Raan Brooks from the Tritons answered with a three-pointer of his own, and it signaled how the rest of the game would shape up. Brooks' three sparked an 11-0 run for the Tritons, as UC San Diego kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 72-47 advantage at one point. The Tritons' 54% showing from the field in the second half guided their 54-23 advantage in the final 20 minutes of play, ending the game with a final score of 92-59.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will get a chance to bounce back and kick off the new month, as they travel down to UC Santa Barbara for a nationally televised showdown with the Gauchos. Action for Thursday's Feb. 1 game can be found on ESPNU, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (PT).
