The Aggies fell at home in their final game of the 2025 regular season
By LUCIENNE BROOKER — sports@theaggie.org
UC Davis men’s basketball wrapped up the regular season with an electric performance at the University Credit Union Center in front of over 4,000 fans. Despite the energy from the crowd and a strong showing by the team, it was not enough to propel the UC Davis Aggies to victory over the first-ranked UC San Diego Tritons.
This match also marked UC Davis’ return to national television, as it was their first nationally televised home game since 2016. Stakes were lower than anticipated, with both teams already locked in on their conference playoff spots, but the Aggies were looking to put on a strong showing in front of a big audience.
Before the game tipped off, the Aggies honored five graduating fourth-years. TY Johnson, a communications major, Pablo Tamba, a communications major and forward/wing, Leo DeBruhl, a sociology major and guard, Francesco Borra, a fifth-year neurobiology, physiology and biology major and forward, and Lukas Prongos, a fourth-year managerial economics major and forward, were all recognized before the game for their contributions to UC Davis basketball.
After the ceremony, the Tritons took an early lead, going on an eight-point run before UC Davis could find a response. However, the Aggies weren’t ready to let go of the fight that early and began to chip away at San Diego’s lead. They were able to cut the deficit to only two points with eight minutes left in the first half.
However, this narrow gap didn’t last for long. The Tritons again backed up their first-place ranking in the conference. Heading into halftime, they had extended their lead again, setting the score at 34-22.
Any hopes the Aggies had of a comeback in the second half were quickly dashed. The Tritons again went on a scoring run and pushed their lead to 18 by scoring the majority of the first points in the second half.
Although the Aggies never gave up — spurred on by the passionate and noisy crowd— they were never able to overcome the lead built by the Tritons. Their best chance came with three minutes left in the game, where they were able to string together a six-point scoring spree, cutting the lead to six points. Despite this last surge of effort, they were unable to fully close the gap, and the Tritons took a comfortable 68-57 victory.
While this wasn’t how UC Davis aimed for this monumental game to go, there were plenty of bright spots. DeBruhl scored a career-high 19 points in his last-ever game at the University Credit Union Center. Tamba also scored in the double digits, with 13 points. Finally, although the Aggies were outscored, their defense had a night to remember. This was only the second time this season that UC San Diego was held to less than 70 points.
The Aggies finished out the season with a strong record, placing sixth in the Big West standings overall. The team will now enjoy some time off before they gear up for another season at the end of fall 2025.
Written by: Lucienne Brooker — sports@theaggie.org
