Matadors Fall at UC Davis, 96-85

DAVIS, CA---

CSUN Men's Basketball (11-15, 7-6 BWC) dropped a 96-85 decision to UC Davis on Thursday evening at the Pavilion. For the seventh time this season, five Matadors scored in double figures led by Darin Johnson who scored 24 points. Micheal Warren scored 14 points off the bench while Aaron Parks collected 13 and Tavrion Dawson posted 12. Reggie Theus Jr. registered a career-high 12 points in 22 minutes of action.

A week removed from falling to a red hot shooting Cal Poly team, the Matadors ran into another buzz saw on Thursday night. The Aggies scored a season-high 96 points on 61.4 percent shooting from the field including 72.4 percent in the first period. UC Davis also hit 14-of-20 from beyond the 3-point arc and received 28 points from Brynton Lemar. In the face of exceptional shooting, the Matadors trailed by as many as 21 points before fighting back to trim the lead to as low as 11 down the stretch.

The Matadors finished shooting 48.3 percent from the field but shot 55.2 percent in the second half. CSUN enjoyed a near record performance from the free throw line, hitting 23 of 24 attempts. The Matadors' 95.8 percent shooting from the charity stripe is the second-highest percentage in a game in team history and the most against a Division I opponent.

In the first half, CSUN would have little success containing the the Aggies on the offensive end. After the teams battled to a standstill at the first media timeout, the Aggies went on a 14-4 run to take a nine-point lead at the 8:53 mark. UC Davis extended its lead to double-digits moments later and pushed the lead to 39-24 after an 8-3 surge.

CSUN remained within striking distance after a 7-3 run capped off by a jumper from Dawson. The Aggies, however, would take control down the stretch as four-straight made shots pushed the lead to 56-38 at the half. Lemar led the Aggies with 17 points in the first half including shooting 5-of-7 from beyond the 3-point arc.

The Matadors continued to battle in the second half as a 7-1 run quickly cut the deficit to 57-45. Johnson scored the Matadors' first seven points in the period and nine of the team's first 13 points.

Enjoying a career night from the floor, Theus Jr. scored nine of his 12 points in the second period. A jumper from Theus Jr. again brought the Matadors to within 68-56 at the 12:32 mark of the half.

Despite the big deficit, the Matadors matched the Aggies punch-for-punch in the second half. After another Aggie run pushed the lead to 91-70, the Matadors constructed an 11-2 run to cut the lead right back to 12 at 93-81.

Turning up their defensive play, the Matadors forced four turnovers over the final 2:18, but could not close the gap in the closing moments of the game.

Along with his career-high 12 points, Theus Jr. also connected on a career-high five field goals in the contest. Playing well against UC Davis, Theus Jr.'s previous career high of nine points also came against UC Davis earlier this season.

Johnson scored 17 of his team-high 24 points in the second half on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and 7-of-7 shooting at the free throw line.

With Parks' 13 points, he moved into 17th place on the Matadors' all-time scoring list with 1,050 career points. Parks would tie Mark Cooley (1964-67) for 16th place on the list with four more points.

The Matadors continue their road trip on Saturday at UC Irvine on ESPN3. Tip off is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Matadors Fall at UC Davis, 96-85

Next Event

Team Stats

Darin Johnson

Micheal Warren

Aaron Parks

Reggie Theus Jr.

Players Mentioned

Tavrion Dawson

Darin Johnson

Aaron Parks

Reggie Theus Jr.

Micheal Warren