LA JOLLA, Calif. — In a matchup between a pair of heavyweights within the Big West it was
Elijah Pepper,
Kane Milling, and
Ty Johnson who orchestrated an impressive offensive display for the UC Davis Aggies, to give the UC San Diego Tritons just their second, home loss of the season. Together, the trio combined to score 53 points, as all three reached double-figures, propelling the Aggies to a 70-63 victory over the Tritons on the road Thursday night inside the LionTree Arena.
The win for UC Davis secures the No. 2 seed in the Big West Championship in Henderson, Nevada. While one more regular season game still looms for the Aggies as they take on Long Beach State this Saturday, UC Davis is now firmly locked in to the Semi-Finals, with their game scheduled to take place next Friday, March. 15 at 8:30 p.m. (PT) inside the Dollar Loan Center. They will face the winners of game three, which will pit the No. 3 seed versus either the No. 6 or No. 7 seed.
Tonight the Aggies (
18-12 13-6) showcased their stingy defense, as well as their balanced offensive attack. Pepper, the standout performer, notched an impressive 28 points along with five assists.
With another 20-point game under his belt, tonight marked the 100th career game for Pepper in which he has reached double-figures, and in the process the second straight season in which he has scored over 600 points in a single season. He sits alone currently as the only player in the Big West with over 600 points this season and is just one of two players to be averaging 20 or more points.
Meanwhile, Milling added 13 points and three steals, while Johnson chipped in with 12 points.
Dealing with foul trouble, Johnson still found a way to contribute to winning basketball tonight. Getting downhill on multiple drive attempts, Johnson gave the Tritons defense trouble with his speed. He, much like Pepper, added yet another double-figure scoring game to his resume, giving hime his 46th career game scoring 10 or more points.
Milling was knockdown from outside, nailing three, triples and quietly provided UC Davis much needed spacing and offensive punch tonight. As a team from beyond the arc, the UC Davis offense was lethal, connecting on eight three-pointers out of 20 attempts.
With three scorers in double-figures, it was the efficiency in which the Aggies scored with that made the difference. Limiting the Tritons; who entered the contest as the best three-point shooting team in the conference, to just 31.6% from behind the arc, UC Davis' effectiveness from outside proved to be pivotal. Nailing 40% of their looks from outside, Milling and Pepper helped UC Davis jump out to a considerable lead early on.
UC Davis buried six of their eight makes from downtown during the first half and this coupled with a 16-0 Aggie run which saw UC Davis force four turnovers, wound up being too large of a hole for UC San Diego to come back from in the second half.
Defensively, the Aggies disrupted the UC San Diego offense, forcing 13 turnovers while committing only nine themselves. These takeaways translated into 11 crucial points on the offensive end. Notably, Milling led the way individually with three steals. The defense for the Aggies on multiple occasions held the Tritons scoreless for long stretches and did a good job of not allowing UC San Diego to cut to closely into the deficit. Despite the single digit win, UC Davis controlled the lead for 96.2% of regulation and even carried a 16-point lead at one point, which was the largest margin of the game.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind 4-3, UC Davis went on a 16-0 run with 17:37 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Pepper, to take a 19-4 lead. The Tritons responded back and used extra possessions thanks in part to their offensive rebounding prowess to cut the lead to just 10, as the Aggies entered halftime with a 43-33 advantage. Like mentioned earlier, the Aggies got a boost from their three-point shooting in the first half, knocking down six triples to account for 18 of its 43 points.
UC Davis kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run, finished off by a wild shot from Leo Debruhl, who buried a three as the shot-clock expired, to grow the lead to 65-58 with 3:26 to go in the contest.
The shot from DeBruhl was a momentum killer for the Tritons as the Aggies would held onto their lead for the rest of the game leave La Jolla with the 70-63 win.
GAME NOTES
» The Aggies knocked down eight of 20 long range attempts.
» UC Davis never trailed in the second half.
» The UC Davis defense forced 13 turnovers.
»
Elijah Pepper led the Aggies with a game-high 28 points.
» UC Davis got a team-high 10 rebounds from
Pablo Tamba.
