DAVIS, Calif. — Kane Milling Elijah Pepper Ty Johnson
Milling would finish the game 9-19 from the field with a standout being his 6-14 performance from three-point range. Milling also added three rebounds.
Pepper added 20 points as well, giving the all-time leading Aggie scorer his 13th game with 20 or more points this season. With Milling being such a threat from the perimeter tonight, Pepper welcomed the opportunity to be a distributor as well, contributing with a team and game-high seven assists in addition to his 20 points.
Johnson delivered an efficient 20 points and four assists. The junior guard found his groove from behind the arc tonight just like the rest of his Aggies teammates, going 3-4 from downtown. His hot shooting from outside carried into his ultra-efficient 7-10 outing from the field. Johnson is now up to six games this season with 20 or more points.
With these three all scoring at a high clip, the UC Davis offense was firing on all cylinders. The Aggies converted on 15 three-pointers out of their 34 attempts, tying a season-high in that department.
The defensive tenacity was also put on full display. The Aggies forced 15 turnovers translating them into 20 points on the offensive end of the floor. Notably,
Ade Adebayo and
Niko Rocak played a pivotal role, each leading the team with two steals in an impressive defensive performance. Paired with this, the froncourt of the Aggies which also included outstanding minutes from
Francesco Borra tonight, did a great job of limiting CSUN on the glass. After entering the contest as the fifth ranked rebounding team in the country, the Aggies dictated the flow and didn't allow the Matadors to win that battle, as each team hauled in 32 rebounds on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After jumping out to a 39-32 advantage, UC Davis went on an 8-0 run with 1:21 left in the first half, ending in a three from Johnson, to increase its lead to 47-32 right before the buzzer sounded at half. UC Davis did damage with their three-point shooting in the period, knocking down nine shots to account for 27 of its 47 points.
UC Davis kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Johnson's layup, to grow the lead to 54-34 with 18:28 to go in the contest. Much of the balance would continue to lean in favor of the Aggies during the second half. After possessing such a strong hold on the game in the first half, the Aggies ability to hit their shots from outside kept the Matadors unable to cut into any deficit. Every chance at a run from CSUN was stymied by an Aggie response offensively, ultimately giving way to 95-75 win for the Aggies.
GAME NOTES Kane Milling Elijah Pepper Ty Johnson Leo DeBruhl
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