Score: UC Davis 61, CSUN 73
Location: Northridge, Calif.
Records: UC Davis 8-7 (2-2), CSUN 11-4 (3-1)
The short story: Although UC Davis recorded their second most steals this season, CSUN's strong defense on the opposite end made it just as difficult for the Aggies to create consistent offensive opportunities, resulting in a 73-61 loss to the Matadors on the road Saturday afternoon.
COURT SIDE
- TY Johnson led the Aggies with 17 points, six rebounds, and four steals
- Connor Sevilla added 11 points and was one of the seven Aggies to record a steal
- UC Davis as a team tallied 14 steals, the second most this season, trailing only their efforts in their Big West opener win against Cal Poly
- Coinciding with this, the Aggies defense forced 19 CSUN turnovers
- Leo DeBruhl contributed seven points and four steals to that total
- Isaiah Chappell was perfect from the field, hitting two three-pointers for the Aggies
- Niko Rocak pulled down a team-high eight rebounds for the Aggies
- UC Davis found most of their success from the charity stripe, making 21 of their 29 attempts from the line, compared to CSUN, who finished 12 of 23
- Along with the Aggies efforts from the free throw line, UC Davis made eight threes in the contest
- For CSUN, the Matadors were led by Keonte Jones who had 13 points and 20 rebounds, and Marcus Adams Jr. with a game-high 28 points
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Falling behind 4-0, UC Davis responded with a 6-0 run to take a 6-4 lead
- This lead would extend even further with the Aggies taking their largest lead of the game at the 15:40 mark
- Despite this early surge, the Aggies entered halftime down 34-25 with CSUN's Adams Jr.'s 12 points in the period leading all scorers
- CSUN extended their lead to 40-28 in the second half but UC Davis answered with a 6-0 run to narrow the deficit to 40-34 with 16:14 remaining
- The Matadors regained momentum and used their efficient offense to outscore the Aggies the rest of the way, resulting in a 73-61 final
- Adams Jr. would score 16 of his game-high 28 points in the second period to pace the Matadors
UP NEXT: UC Davis returns home next week, hosting Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Jan. 9, at 6 p.m. PT. The Aggies will follow that game by hosting Long Beach State on Saturday, Jan. 11, at 2 p.m. PT.
