UC Davis basketball continues push for Big West positioning

UC Davis basketball continues to strive for a strong spot in the upcoming Big West Tournament, and several key upcoming games on its schedule could impact that push.

Aggies head coach Jim Les joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Wednesday to discuss his team’s recent let-down against UC San Diego, explain how his team looks to respond against Bakersfield, and much more.

Plus, Les shares how these big games can bring the best out of his group of players.

Be sure to check out the entire interview with Jim Les on the Sactown Sports 1140 YouTube page.

Listen to The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross from 6 – 10 a.m. PST, Monday through Friday, on Sactown Sports 1140.

Click here for full episodes of The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross.

More on UC Davis Basketball

Courtesy of UC Davis Athletics

Score:  UC Davis basketball 60, UC San Diego 85
Location: La Jolla, Calif.
Records:  UC Davis 15-11 (9-6), UC San Diego 22-4 (12-2)

The short story: TY Johnson and Nils Cooper each reached double figures, but the Aggies came up short against first-place UC San Diego, dropping Saturday’s road contest 85-60.

COURT SIDE

• Johnson led all Aggies with 14 points and added two steals
• Cooper continued his strong play as of recent, nearly matching his career-high in points, as he scored 12 points, to go along with eight rebounds
• Pablo Tamba had a strong second half, scoring six of his eight points in the second half on a perfect 3-3 effort from the field in the final 20 minutes
• UC San Diego despite these efforts, got off to a hot start and never looked back, leading 52-31 at the break
• The Tritons were led by a trio of double figure scorers: Tyler McGhie, Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, and Hayden Gray

HOW IT HAPPENED

• UC Davis with their new look starting lineup that featured Carl Daughtery Jr. and Nils Cooper, kept up with the Tritons early, keeping things at 9-6 before the Aggies substituted into their most used five-man lineup of the season
• The Aggies would even tie things up at 9-9 with Rocak hitting a three on the first possession after being subbed in
• The Tritons would however go on a 17-2 run immediately after, making the score 26-11 at the 9:35 mark
• Connor Sevilla would stop the run with a three-pointer at 8:53 on the clock, but this early momentum for the Tritons would carry over into a 52-31 lead at the break for UC San Diego
• The Tritons would continue much of the same in the second half, building their lead to 76-52 with 5:37 remaining
• The Aggies would go on one more run, a 6-0 scoring mark highlighted by a Tamba layup, but it would be too late, as the Tritons would hold on to the 85-60 win to secure their seventh straight win

UP NEXT: UC Davis basketball will look to regroup next week with a pair of home games, hosting Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Feb. 20 at 6 p.m. PT and CSUN on Saturday Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. PT.

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