DAVIS, Calif. — The UC Davis men's basketball team will travel this week for two away games, facing CSUN on Thursday, Feb. 22 and Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday, Feb. 24.

Feb. 22 at CSUN | 7 p.m. Tip-off (Northridge, Calif.) | ESPN+
Watch
Listen
Live Stats

Feb. 24 at Cal State Bakersfield | 7 p.m. Tip-off (Bakersfield, Calif.) | ESPN+
Watch
Listen
Live Stats

LAST TIME
UC Davis rallied from a 16-point hole in the second half, but Long Beach State fended off the comeback to secure a 78-74 win last Thursday night at the University Credit Union Center.

Elijah Pepper was stellar for the Aggies, matching his career-high with 32 points and adding six rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Ty Johnson also stepped up for the Aggies, scoring 19 points and grabbing six steals. Johnson scored 13 of his points in the second half. Niko Rocak had a career-night as well, posting 13 points and eight rebounds as he battled against the Beach's tough frontcourt.

The Aggies shot well from the three-point line, making 10 of 27 attempts. Pepper hit eight of them, setting a new season-high for an Aggie and a career-high for himself, surpassing his previous record of six.
The Aggies were aggressive on defense, forcing 19 turnovers and scoring 20 points off them. Johnson led the team and the game with six steals, which was the second-highest in his career, behind his record of eight, which is still the Division I steal record in UC Davis history.

The following game, UC Davis was led by Ty Johnson who had a game-high 22 points, five rebounds and five assists, but it was not enough to prevent UC Davis from falling to UC Riverside 67-61 last Saturday.

The Aggies trailed by five at halftime and mounted a comeback in the second half, fueled by their defense and the contributions of Niko Rocak (seven points, seven rebounds, three blocks) and Kane Milling (12 points). They went on an 11-0 run to start the half and took their first lead of the game at the 17:02 mark, forcing three consecutive turnovers from the Highlanders.

However, UC Riverside responded with clutch shooting, especially from Wil Tattersall, who hit the crucial three pointer in the final minutes to help hold off the Aggies.

AGGIES IN THE RANKINGS

• #21 in NCAA in Turnovers Forced Per Game.
• Pepper ranked #15 in NCAA in Points Per Game, #10 in Three-Pointers Per Game.
• Ty Johnson and Pepper entered the season as the top returning backcourt scoring duo in the country and both are top-10 in the Big West in scoring this season.
• In Conference Only statistics, the Aggies rank:
  • #1 in steals
  • #1 in opponent three-point defense
  • #2 in opponent field goal percentage
  • #2 in scoring defense
  • 13-1 in games in which Aggies are tied for or lead in rebounding battle.
• Elijah Pepper also is averaging a conference leading 21.1 points per game. He was also announced as one of the 40 names to the 2023-24 Lou Henson mid-season Watch List.
• Ty Johnson is top-10 in the conference in all assist categories during conference play.
• Niko Rocak ranks first in the conference in blocks per game during conference play.
• Pepper and Johnson are the lone players in Big West action to be averaging two or more steals.
• Ty Johnson and Elijah Pepper entered this season as the top returning scoring backcourt in all of the NCAA and this season are ranked second in all of the country in points per game as a guard duo (37.9 PPG between the pair), only trailing Hofstra's backcourt.
• Johnson and Pepper are the only players during Big West play averaging over two steals per game with Johnson's 2.2 leading the conference followed close by Pepper's 2.1 per game.

ELIJAH PEPPER RECORD WATCH

• Pepper is the all-time leading scorer in Aggie history with 2,150 points and counting.
• He sits at second all-time in the Big West's history of leading scorers and trails the Big West career scoring record by just 163 points, a record held by Lucious Harris (LBSU, 122 games - 1989-93).
• Pepper is also now UC Davis' holder for the all-time career steals record sitting atop the list with 214 in his career. He achieved the feat when the Aggies faced UC Riverside on Jan. 4.

DEFENSIVE IMPACT
Niko Rocak has been one of the most impactful defenders in Big West play, as seen by him breaking a single game school-record with six blocks in the Aggies win against UC Irvine on Jan. 20. The six blocks leads the conference for most in a game this season.

Ty Johnson and Elijah Pepper sit atop the Big West ranks for most steals per game in conference, play. The pair are the only two players averaging more than two steals per game.

These efforts have helped fuel the Aggies defensive presence the entire season, with UC Davis ranking 21st in turnovers forced per game.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
CSUN has been one of the best teams in the Big West throughout the season, thanks in large part to their ability to generate fast break points. Ranking 14th in the country in getting out in transition, the Matadors have paired their up-tempo offense with dominant rebounding, ranking 12th in the country in total rebounds to control games. Spearheading the attack for the Matadors is De'Sean Allen-Eikens who is averaging the third-most points per game in the Big West. The Aggies downed CSUN earlier in the season at home with a 95-75 win over the Matadors.

Cal State Bakersfield is led by the conference's seventh leading scorer, Kaleb Higgins. The Roadrunners are known for their ability to control the turnover battle, ranking near the top of the conference just like the Aggies in turnovers forced per game. The Roadrunners rank first in turnover margin, and hit the offensive glass hard, ranking 62nd in the country in offensive rebounds. The bench for the Roadrunners is also potent, combining to average 25.58 of the Roadrunners 68.7 points per game. UC Davis won the earlier contest between the two programs, taking down the Roadrunners 78-71 in an overtime thriller.