Score: UC Davis 77, Cal Poly 66
Location: Davis, Calif. (University Credit Union Center)
Records: UC Davis 4-4 (1-0), Cal Poly 5-5 (0-1)
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The short story: A strong shooting second half combined with creating 33 Cal Poly turnovers powered UC Davis men's basketball to a 77-66 win over the Mustangs in its Big West Conference opener on Thursday evening.
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OPENING TIP
- Five Aggies finished in double-figures scoring
- Connor Sevilla led the Ags with a career-high 17 points, going 5-for-10 from the field (3-for-6 from three-point range), snagging three boards and finishing with three assists, it was the third-straight game Sevilla has scored in double figures
- Three Aggies, TY Johnson, Pablo Tamba and Carl Daughtery Jr., all finished with 14 points
- Johnson led the team with six steals, while Daughtery Jr., scored his points off the bench on 5-for-11 shooting from the field
- Leo DeBruhl, shooting 3-for-5 from three-point land to finish with 13 points to round out the Aggie double-figure scorers
- UC Davis shot 42.9 percent from beyond the arc, finishing 44.4 percent from the field on the game
- The Aggies' 44.4 percent was the fourth-best shooting percentage this season in a game where they took the second-most attempts from the field they have had this season
- UC Davis outscored Cal Poly 47-35 in the second half
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Despite Cal Poly pulling out to a quick 9-0 lead, the Aggies stayed firm
- Both teams struggled to get their footing on offense but at the 7:35 mark in the opening half Cal Poly held a 22-11 lead
- It was the biggest lead the Mustangs would have and it was at this point UC Davis began to pull Cal Poly back and chip away at the lead
- With just about four minutes to go, DeBruhl and Daughtery Jr., drew fouls and went to the line, nailing all four free throws to get the Aggies withing four points at 25-21
- Both sides began trading baskets down the stretch and with under one minute to go, Cal Poly held a 29-26 lead
- Over those final 40 seconds, Sevilla twice went to the line, draining all four free throw attempts over a 40-second stretch to get the Aggies within one at the break
- Cal Poly took a 31-30 lead into the break, but only because of a late layup with 30 seconds left giving the Mustangs a cushion to survive the late free throws made by Sevilla
- UC Davis built out a six-point lead, overtaking Cal Poly early in the second half and after Tamba slammed one home off a steal by Johnson UC Davis led 39-33 with 17:25 left in the game
- At the 14:30 mark, following a three-point basket then dunk on a fastbreak, Cal Poly briefly retook the lead
- But the lead was brief indeed, as on the next possession Johnson nailed a three to retake the lead at 44-42 and send the Aggies off and running
- Over the next three minutes the Aggies would rip off an 19-0 run to put some real distance between themselves and the Mustangs
- In that run, Sevilla hit a pair of back-to-back threes to push the run into double figures and fire the Aggie fans up
- As late as five minutes, the Aggies had built out a 71-52 lead, which Cal Poly would take just a bit off the top of
- But UC Davis would not allow the Mustangs to cut the deficit to under 10 points, never allowing their lead to fall under 11 points over the final five minutes of the game
- And with the final whistle, UC Davis locked up its 77-66 conference opening win, snapping a two-game slide
UP NEXT: The Aggies remain in Davis when on Saturday, Dec. 7 at 5 p.m., UC Santa Barbara visits the University Credit Union Center.
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