The men’s team beat Menlo College, while the women’s team defeated Jessup University
BY COLINA HARVEY— sports@theaggie.org
On Nov. 3, UC Davis basketball hosted their season-opening double header, with the men’s team playing first, followed by the women’s. The men’s team faced Menlo College, and the women’s team played Jessup University. Both teams beat their opponents by large margins.
Last season, the men’s basketball team endured ups and downs, finishing the season with a conference record of 9-11. They qualified for the Big West Championship, but were eliminated by California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo in the first round.
Many of last year’s key players, such as TY Johnson, Leo DeBruhl, Niko Rocak and Pablo Tamba, have graduated. This leaves opportunities for different players to step into leadership roles.
In their first game against Menlo, fans got a first look at who these new leaders could be.
The game began with the Aggies immediately building up a slight lead. Later in the first half, they were able to expand the lead to 10 points. However, Menlo was fighting back, blocking the Aggies from running away with the game.
With just a few minutes left in the half, the lead was up to 12 points. Menlo was able to get it down to eight points going into halftime.
In the second half, the Aggies took over, outscoring Menlo by 19 points. The key to their great half was strong shooting, especially from behind the three-point line. The Aggies shot 60% from the three in the second half. Four of those three-pointers belonged to Isaiah Chappell, a second-year economics major.
The Aggies won the game decisively with a final score of 96-69. Third-year communication major Nils Cooper led the scoring with 18 points. Additionally, third-year managerial economics major Connor Sevilla, first-year human development major Omer Suljanovic and Chappell contributed double-digit scoring.
After the men’s basketball team’s victory over Menlo, it was the women’s turn to go up against Jessup University.
The women’s team had a strong season last year, going 13-7 in conference play. They made a deep run in the Big West Championship, beating UC Riverside and UC Irvine to make it into the final. Unfortunately, they fell short in their last match, losing to UC San Diego.
In their first game against Jessup, they maintained the lead throughout the entirety of the game. Their strong defense made it difficult for Jessup to get easy points, and the Aggies more than doubled Jessup’s scoring with an end score of 72-35.
In the first quarter, the Aggies carved out a small lead. They then increased the lead significantly in the second quarter, up to a maximum of 22 points. They went into halftime leading by 19, and, in the second half, they continued to outscore Jessup.
The Aggies’ leading scorer was second-year psychology major Ryann Bennett, who recorded an impressive 21 points. Fourth-year communication major Nya Epps and graduate student Megan Norris also recorded double-digit points. Norris recorded a double-double with 13 points and 17 rebounds, along with a significant six blocks.
The win can be largely attributed to the Aggie defense, which forced Jessup to take hard shots and held their shooting percentage to 16.7%. This allowed the Aggies to hold a large lead throughout the game.
The women’s team’s next home game will be on Dec. 7 against the University of Hawai’i’; this will also be their first Big West matchup, making it a crucial game for the Aggies.
The next home game for the men’s team will be on Nov. 14 against rival Sacramento State; both teams have an exciting season ahead.
Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org

