Aggie men and women fall in non-conference basketball games Sunday
Stanford stops Aggie men, UCD women fall to Montana State
The UC Davis men's and women's basketball teams ran into some stiff competition on the road Sunday afternoon, with the men falling, 79-65, at Stanford, while the women dropped a 77-59 decision at Montana State in Bozeman.
The Aggie women fell to 1-3 on the year and the men to 2-2. Stanford and Montana State are both 4-0.
The men led Stanford early, taking a 5-3 lead on a pair of buckets from Leo DeBruhl and a free throw from TY Johnson, but Stanford quickly took control after that to lead 41-23 at the half.
A 3-pointer by Oziyah Sellers gave the Cardinal its biggest lead of the night at 44-23, but the Aggies picked up their defense and began to chip into the deficit.
Johnson, who came in averaging 29 points a game, was held to five points in the first half, but exploded after the break to lead the Aggies with 26. A steal and a slam by Johnson trimmed Stanford's lead to just 53-48 midway through the second half, but the rally was short-lived and Stanford regained control down the stretch.
Pablo Tamba had 13 points and five rebounds for the Aggies, while DeBruhl had 11 points.
Maxime Raynaud led Stanford with 33 points and 14 rebounds, hitting five 3-pointers in a stellar afternoon performance.
"We're challenging our guys and playing some tough opponents," said an upbeat Aggie head coach Jim Les afterward.
"The first half wasn't anything like Aggie basketball. The discipline wasn't there on offense or defense. But we played Aggie basketball in the second half. We had a better mindset and executed the offense. I like this group. They're rising to the challenge and they're going to be good. This is all part of the growth process."
UCD returns to action Wednesday at Grand Canyon in Phoenix before returning home Nov. 25 against Norfolk State.
The Montana State women, one of the favorites in the Big Sky Conference, opened a 17-9 lead at the quarter, expanded that to 42-31 at half and cruised from there behind 21 points each from Esmeralda Morales and Marah Dykstra.
Nya Epps had 14 points for the Aggies, while Tova Sabel had nine points and Megan Norris added eight rebounds.
The women are home Wednesday at 6 p.m. in a Causeway Classic battle against Sacramento State.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com