Matadors Drop Hard Fought Battle to UC Davis, 71-68

NORTHRIDGE, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (7-10, 3-1 BWC) nearly erased a six-point deficit with less than a minute remaining but UC Davis (11-8, 3-1 BWC) held on for a 71-68 victory on Saturday evening at The Matadome. Kendall Smith led all scorers with 21 points on 7-of-14 shooting in 39 minutes of action. Aaron Parks scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds while Tavrion Dawson came a rebound shy of a double-double as he finished with 13 points and nine boards. Off the bench, Reggie Theus Jr. scored a career-high nine points to go along with a rebound and a steal. Missing a last second 3-pointer, the Matadors fell for the first time in Big West play this season and for the first time in the last five games.

"There's a lot of things you could say about a game like this," said head coach Reggie Theus. "It's a trap game first of all. You play two games in a row on the road that are hard-fought battle games. You win the two games on the road. You have a tough opponent coming in at home. It's one of those games where you play so well on the road and things flowed so well for us, but tonight, shots weren't falling. As I told our guys, you have to be able to play ugly and win. That's how you grow as a team. As a player, you have to have more than one way to play. Shots aren't falling, you have to be able to do other things. In the end, they made plays down the stretch and we missed ours."

CSUN shot 40.8 percent from the field on Saturday while the visitors finished shooting 50.9 percent. Both teams shot 4-of-14 from 3-point land (28.6) while the Matadors posted a slight edge in free throw percentage at 77.4 percent compared to UC Davis' 73.3 percent. The Matadors out-rebounded the Aggies, 24-20, but UC Davis recorded a 46-20 advantage in points in the paint.

In what has become common anytime the Matadors and Aggies have played one another, Saturday's meeting between the two teams would be a close battle that would once again come down to the wire. After falling to the Aggies twice last season, first on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer on the road and then by four points in triple overtime at home, the Matadors took UC Davis to the limit and to the final buzzer once more. However, UC Davis would again pull out a close game to win its seven-straight over CSUN.

At the outset of the game, the Matadors jumped out in front and built a double-digit lead. Holding the Aggies to four points over the first 7:38 of the first half, CSUN raced out to a 15-4 lead.

Despite the fast start, the Matadors struggled from the field for the remainder of the first half. Shooting just 36.4 percent from the field, CSUN was forced to find other ways to get points. The Matadors earned 16 trips to the free throw line, knocking down 15 attempts to help maintain a lead over the final minutes of the period. Parks led the way for the Matadors in the half, scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting and 3-of-3 shooting from the free throw line.

Trailing by seven with 5:57 left to play, the Aggies chipped away at the Matador lead and went into the break trailing 31-30.

After intermission, CSUN again put together a quick start with a 9-4 run to go up 40-34 at the 16:17 mark. However, the Matadors would go cold from the field over the next 3:25 allowing UC Davis to take advantage. An 11-0 run capped off by six-straight points from Siler Schneider gave the Aggies a 45-40 lead with 12:52 remaining in regulation.

Not to be outdone, the Matadors quickly responded with an 8-3 spurt as a 3-pointer from Smith and five-straight points from Darin Johnson put CSUN back in front, 48-47.

The two teams traded baskets down the stretch until the Aggies constructed an 8-2 run to go ahead 67-61 with 3:47 left to play. The Matadors were unable to respond on three consecutive possessions until Dawson earned his way to the free throw line with one minute remaining.

Dawson converted on both free throws to trim the lead to four but the Aggies' Brynton Lemar pushed his team in front, 69-63, on a driving layup despite a foul by Johnson.

The Matadors though would not give up. After a missed free throw by Lemar, CSUN quickly moved the ball up the court and Smith knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the lead in half. Following another missed free throw by Lemar on a 1-and-1 situation at the charity stripe, Smith brought the Matadors closer after he was fouled and he hit two free throws.

CSUN committed a foul on the next play, giving Lemar an opportunity to go back to the foul line. Lemar hit both free throws, giving the Aggies a 71-68 lead with 13 seconds left. On the ensuing possession, Smith got off a last second 3-pointer just before the final buzzer but his shot rimmed out, giving the Aggies the victory.

Proving a spark off the bench, Theus Jr. scored six of his career-best nine points in the second half. Despite an off-night from the floor (1-of-9), Johnson tied his career-high in assists (7) and steals (3) to go along with seven points.

The Matadors continue Big West play with a road game at Hawai'i on Wednesday, Jan. 18. Tip off from Stan Sheriff Center is slated for 9 p.m. (PT).

Matadors Drop Hard Fought Battle to UC Davis, 71-68

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Team Stats

Kendall Smith

Aaron Parks

Tavrion Dawson

Reggie Theus Jr.

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Reggie Theus Jr.