Fullerton shuts down late Aggie rally to eliminate UCD from Big West men's basketball tournament
82-70 loss sends Aggies home with a winning season, but short of championship goals
HENDERSON, Nevada - UC Davis’ frantic late-game rally fell short as Cal State Fullerton held on in the final two minutes to eliminate the Aggies from the Big West men’s basketball tournament Thursday night at Lee’s Family Forum.
The 82-70 loss ended the Aggie season at 19-14 overall after UCD went 11-9 in Big West play.
UCD opened the tournament with a hard-fought win over UC Santa Barbara Wednesday night, but couldn’t maintain the momentum in the quarterfinal round against Fullerton.
Both teams were cold from the start, putting up enough bricks to add another wing to the arena.
At one point in the early going, Fullerton went over six minutes without scoring a point, but still led the game, 5-4, as the Aggies matched the Titans miss for miss for miss.
The Aggies managed to take a 16-13 lead on a basket from Isaiah Chappell and two free throws from Omer Suljanovic, but the advantage was short-lived.
Fullerton finally found its footing and went on a blistering 25-6 run, taking a 38-26 lead into halftime.
The Titans steadily expanded that lead to 70-49 with five minutes remaining, but the Aggies weren’t yet ready to call it a season.
UCD used a pressing, hounding defense to put together an 11-0 run and managed to cut the deficit to 74-68 with 2:04 remaining before Fullerton held on down the stretch.
“Congratulations to Fullerton,” said Aggie head coach Jim Les.
“I thought they played really well right from the start. We’ve had a tough stretch of games and some key injuries and it finally caught up with us. On both ends of the floor we were a little bit slower and a little bit behind and Fullerton made the most of it.”
Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor, who played two years for the Aggies in the late 90s and graduated from UC Davis with a degree in sociology, was thrilled with the win over his alma mater.
“The game tonight obviously wasn’t pretty, but our guys found a way to get it done,” said Taylor, who was named Big West Coach of the Year this season in a vote of the league’s coaches.
The game marks the Aggies’ final appearance in the Big West Conference, with UCD moving the majority of its athletic programs, including men’s and women’s basketball, to the rugged Mountain West Conference beginning July 1.
“This has been a great league for us,” noted Les.
“I’ve enjoyed its competitive nature and the rivalries we’ve created. I’m excited about where we are going, but grateful for the experiences we had in the Big West. I’m more sentimental, however, about the guys in the locker room who have meant so much to me and to our program.”
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
Best line in your story: Both teams were cold from the start, putting up enough bricks to add another wing to the arena. :)
The Big West was super competitive this season. Now the Aggies need to climb the Mountain West ranks. A new challenge.