Aggies fall to Long Beach State for first home loss of Big West play
Jan 13, 2025, 6:44 AM
This story was initially published by UC Davis Athletics
Score: UC Davis basketball 73, Long Beach State 84
Location: Davis, Calif.
Records: UC Davis 9-8 (3-3), Long Beach State 7-10 (3-2)
The short story: TY Johnson scored a team-high 31 points, entering UC Davis’ top 10 all-time career scoring list, but the Aggies struggled defensively as Long Beach State capitalized in the second half, outscoring UC Davis 52-42, and handing UC Davis their first home loss in Big West play.
COUNT THE BASKET 😤
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— UC Davis Men’s Basketball (@ucdavismbb) January 11, 2025
COURT SIDE
- The Aggies were led by three double-figure scorers, highlighted by Johnson’s outstanding performance of 31 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals
- Leo DeBruhl and Connor Sevilla each added 12 points
- Johnson did a lot of his damage tonight from the free-throw line, hitting 18 of 20 attempts, setting a new program record and breaking the previous mark of 17 set by Fowzi Abdelsamad
- Despite the loss, UC Davis made a concerted effort on the offensive glass with 17 offensive boards, leading to 11 second-chance points
- UC Davis also held the rebounding advantage, out-rebounding Long Beach State, 33-25
- Niko Rocak hauled in a game-high nine rebounds and recorded his third consecutive multi-block effort
- Johnson’s 31-point performance placed him in UC Davis’ top 10 all-time career scoring list, where he currently sits at 10th all-time with 1,376 points
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Sevilla started the game much like he finished the last one, hitting a three-pointer at the 16:40 mark to begin the scoring for the Aggies
- UC Davis used this momentum and jumped out to a 19-14 lead with a three-pointer from DeBruhl capping off their early run
- Johnson added another bucket at the buzzer to end the first half, but Long Beach State responded during the latter part of the half and took a 32-31 lead into the break
- Pablo Tamba gave UC Davis the lead to begin the second half, but Long Beach State hit back-to-back threes, a sign of things to come as The Beach made seven threes in the second half
- The Beach would extend their lead to double digits, making it 52-42 at the 11:37 mark
- UC Davis fought back with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 52-49, but Long Beach State held on and used their hot-shooting second half to outscore the Aggies and secure an 11-point win
- Long Beach State shot a blistering 64.7% from three-point range and 89.3% from the free-throw line to help clinch the win
UP NEXT: UC Davis will be back in action Thursday, traveling to Cal Poly on Jan. 16, before visiting UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Jan. 18.
More on UC Davis basketball
UC Davis basketball is off to an 8-7 start as they look ahead to this week’s action at home against Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State.
Aggies head coach and former Sacramento Kings guard Jim Les joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Wednesday morning to share his thoughts on the start of the season, explain why he feels interim Kings head coach Doug Christie is thriving in his new role, and much more.
Be sure to check out the full interview with Jim Les on the Sactown Sports 1140 YouTube page.
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