DAVIS, Calif. — With a dominant defensive performance, the UC Davis men's basketball team earned their third straight victory after to a 71-58 win over Cal State Fullerton at home on Thursday. The Aggies suffocating defense limited the Titans to a 3-of-17 showing from beyond the arc, holding them to just 17.6 percent from deep.
Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson continued their dynamic ways for UC Davis (15-8, 10-2), combining for 36 points.
Pepper led the way tonight for UC Davis, scoring a game-high 19 points while dishing out four assists. He led the Aggies on both sides of the ball tonight, recording four steals for an aggressive Aggies' defense that forced 13 turnovers and converted them into 14 points.
Pepper also found himself accomplishing yet another milestone, becoming the third highest scorer all-time in Big West history.
Ty Johnson also shined offensively, getting to to his spot all-night as he finished with 17 points on 7-9 shooting from the field. Living in the mid-range like he has all season, Johnson also wreaked havoc in transition tonight, scoring a pair of buckets in the second half completely uncontested off the heels of some Aggie steals.
Kane Milling and
Pablo Tamba were also excellent for the Aggies, each contributing with nine points.
Tamba specifically was a bright spot for the Aggies in the first half, delivering all nine of his points on a perfect 4-4 from the field. After the game, Coach
Jim Les spoke highly of his contributions.
"He was awesome tonight," Coach Les stated. "We have a ton of confidence in Pablo and down the stretch he's going to be big for us."
With the success offensively for so many guys tonight, it all stemmed from the crisp ball movement, recording 17 assists on 27 field goals. Six different Aggies recorded multiple assists tonight with Pepper leading the way with his four. This distributing effort allowed UC Davis to shoot 48.2 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point range in the contest.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies seized control of the game early, opening up a 21-14 lead and then extending it to 30-14 with a 9-0 spurt, capped off by a Sione Lose basket, with 8:06 remaining in the first half. They maintained a double-digit cushion at the break, 36-25, thanks to a strong performance from their bench, which chipped in 17 points in the period. In this first half,
Pablo Tamba shined, scoring all nine of his points in the period, going a perfect 4-4 from the field.
The Aggies would continue to control the game in the second half, using an early 10-0 burst, punctuated by a Leo Debruhl layup, to stretch their lead to 50-31 with 13:57 left in the game. The Aggies continued to keep their foot on the gas, as this run would play part in the Aggies going 7 for 7 on field goals extending their lead to 54-37 with 11:44 remaining.
The Titans managed to cut the deficit slightly in the later stages, but the Aggies would come away with the 71-58 victory.
GAME NOTES
» The Aggies held the Titans to only 35.6 percent shooting from the field.
» UC Davis never trailed in the second half on its way to victory.
» UC Davis recorded 17 total assists in the game.
» UC Davis had a stellar day defensively, holding CSU Fullerton to 18 percent from three point land on 17 attempts.
» UC Davis had a 38-27 edge on the boards in the win.
» The UC Davis defense forced 13 turnovers.
» Elijah Pepper led the Aggies with 19 points.
» UC Davis got five rebounds from both Elijah Pepper and Niko Rocak.
