CSUN Falls To UC Davis At The Buzzer 63-62

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DAVIS, Calif. --- CSUN (6-11, 1-2 BWC) lost at the buzzer to UC Davis (6-10, 1-2 BWC) Thursday night in the Pavilion in Davis. The Matadors led for all but six minutes of the game, but couldn't hold off a last minute comeback by the Aggies and a 3-pointer with three seconds on the clock.

Sophomore Micheal Warren led the Matadors in scoring with 16 points and junior Aaron Parks (13) and sophomore Tavrion Dawson (10) were also in double figures scoring. Senior Olalekan Ajayi led the Matadors with seven rebounds and Warren and junior Kendall Smith each contributed career-high-tying six assists apiece.

Senior Tre Hale-Edmerson continues to move up the CSUN charts, and after tonight's game he is tied for #2 all-time at CSUN in games started and ranks seventh all-time in career rebounds.

"For the better part of the game, I thought we played really well," said Head Coach Reggie Theus. "The shame is that you have to finish it. In the second half we got a little bit lax with our defense, they kept playing hard and consequently they made a big shot down the stretch. That's really it; we made a defensive mistake when the game was on the line."

The first half was fast-paced and aggressive, and CSUN held the advantage for all but a few minutes. Parks put the first points on the board for the Matadors and an athletic layup by Smith put the Matadors on top, 4-2, headed into the first media timeout. They stayed there for most of the half, despite a comeback by the Aggies a little more than halfway through. Dawson led the Matadors in scoring through the first 20 and Ajayi contributed four rebounds. Smith also added six assists and the score was 35-28 at the half.

The Aggies got hot to start the second half and pulled within three points three minutes in, but the Matadors continued to hold them off. With just under five minutes to play, the Aggies again pulled close but the Matadors maintained the momentum, partly due to a highlight dunk by Ajayi with just less than three minutes to go.

The Aggies tied the game again with 40 seconds remaining and a jumper by Warren put the Matadors up by two with 11 seconds left. On a quick possession, Aggies guard Siler Schneider hit a 3-pointer, leaving only three seconds on the clock, and CSUN couldn't get the ball down the court fast enough.

The Matadors outshot the Aggies 48 percent to 47 percent and were nine-for-13 at the free throw line to the Aggies' six-for-15. Second chance points and 3-point shooting were where the Aggies held the advantage, which proved just enough for the slim victory.

For UC Davis, Schneider led the team with 17 points, forward Josh Fox added 13 and guard Lemar Brynton scored 10. Center Neal Monson led the Aggies with 13 rebounds.

CSUN returns home to The Matadome this Saturday, January 15 to take on UC Riverside in the second game of an In-N-Out Doubleheader. The CSUN women play UC Santa Barbara at 4:00 p.m. to start the day. The Matador men then face Cal Poly in The Matadome on Thursday, January 21 at 7:00 p.m.

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Team Stats

Micheal Warren

Aaron Parks

Tavrion Dawson

Kendall Smith

Players Mentioned

Olalekan Ajayi

Tavrion Dawson

Tre Hale-Edmerson

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren