The 84-73 loss reflects strong three-point shooting by the Beach
By (Colina Harvey) — sports@theaggie.org
On Jan. 11, the UC Davis men’s basketball team took on Long Beach State University at a home game in the first of two matchups against the Beach this season. Coming off of a win against California State University, Fullerton on Jan. 9, the UC Davis Aggies looked to start a winning streak and improve their record, which currently hovers around .500.
At the start of the match, the Aggies struggled to score against a strong Long Beach defense, going scoreless for over three minutes. The shutout ended when Connor Sevilla, a second-year undeclared major and guard, hit a three-pointer.
After four turnovers in the first three minutes, the Aggies’ rhythm picked up at the five-minute mark with a strong rebound by TY Johnson, a fourth-year communications major and guard. The rebound led to a layup by Leo DeBruhl, a fourth-year sociology major and guard, and was followed by another three-pointer from Sevilla, tying the game at 9-9.
A steal by Johnson and a foul by Long Beach, that sent Johnson to the line, led to the Aggies moving up into the lead.
Despite the Aggies’ starting lineup having a three-inch height disadvantage compared to Long Beach, they managed to out-rebound the Beach, especially offensively. However, the Aggies did not always capitalize off of these offensive rebounds. A UC Davis possession midway through the first half of the game gave the Aggies four shot attempts but none connected with the net.
The game stayed remarkably close throughout the half, with neither team leading by more than five points. With about six minutes to go in the first half, Sevilla hit his third three-pointer, tying the game at 25-25.
The Aggies trailed slightly throughout the last five minutes of the first half, but in the last two minutes, a clutch rebound by Nico Rocak, a business administration (MBA) graduate student and forward, led to a layup by Carl Daughtery Jr., a third-year human development major and guard. This, along with a buzzer-beating jumper by Johnson, allowed the Aggies to stay close to Long Beach going into halftime — only down by one point.
UC Davis displayed strong three-point shooting in the first half, scoring six of the nine shots they took. Sevilla led the Aggies in scoring with nine points, while Devin Askew led the Beach with 14 points.
Pablo Tamba, a fourth-year communications major and forward/wing, started the second half with a quick layup to take the lead for the Aggies, but Long Beach’s Cam Denson and Kam Martin responded with two quick three-pointers, bringing their lead to five.
A few minutes in, Askew was benched due to a knee injury. Fortunately for Long Beach, their leading scorer came back less than a minute later.
Additionally, five fouls were committed in the first four minutes, four of which belonged to Long Beach. The high amount of fouls from both teams created a gritty, physical game without much flow, especially at the start of the second half.
A Long Beach dunk with time of 16:24 left in the game brought the Beach’s lead to six, which was the largest lead of the game at that point. Meanwhile, the Aggies struggled to score much after Tamba’s layup 30 seconds in. While the Aggies were down by six, Sevilla attempted a three-pointer but air-balled — leaving the Aggies to recover the ball and Sevilla to go for another three-pointer, which also missed.
Isaiah Chappell, a first-year economics major and forward, ended the Aggies’ scoring drought with a strong layup. While Sevilla cooled off from behind the three-point line, no other Aggie seemed to be able to take his place. As UC Davis struggled to make three-pointers, Long Beach was just starting to heat up. A three-pointer from Long Beach’s TJ Wainwright brought the Beach’s lead to double digits for the first time this game.
Long Beach went on to shoot an impressive 7-10 from the three-line in the second half. On the other hand, the Aggies only shot 2-13 from the three-line, a big reason for the Beach’s growing lead. Even DeBruhl, one of UC Davis’ top-three point shooters, was unable to get a single three-pointer in the second half.
Johnson attempted to keep UC Davis in the game, drawing a lot of fouls from Long Beach State. In the second half, he scored 24 points, 13 of which were off of free throws. While Johnson scored points for the Aggies, Askew was making a big impact on the Long Beach side. In the second half, Askew scored 18 points, going 4-7 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line.
As Long Beach continued to outshoot the Aggies, their lead grew and eventually slipped out of UC Davis’ reach. With about five minutes to go, the Long Beach lead hovered around 10 points. The Aggies were not able to gain momentum to close the gap, and it became clear that the Beach would take the win. When the final buzzer sounded, the final score was 84-73.
While Johnson easily surpassed his scoring average of 20.4 points, other Aggie players underperformed, with other strong point producers scoring at least four points under their average. In addition, Long Beach’s shots were more consistent and on-target. In the second half, Long Beach shot 57.14% from the field, while UC Davis made only 35.71%, making it difficult for UC Davis to stay in reach of the Beach.
With this loss, the Aggies’ record fell to 3-3 in conference and 9-8 overall. However, this is only the start of the season for the Aggies as they look to their next games against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 18 and the University of Hawai’i on Jan. 23.
By (Colina Harvey) — sports@theaggie.org