Aggie men and women drop Big West basketball battles against UC Irvine
Women lose, 55-53, on a buzzer-beater while the men were routed, 88-59
Thursday was a tough night for UC Davis basketball fans as both the Aggie men and women dropped Big West Conference games.
The men were routed at home by powerful UC Irvine, 88-59, in a game they were never in, while the women dropped a last-second 55-53 decision at Irvine.
The loss was the fifth in a row for the Aggie men, who are now 9-10 in Big West play and alone in sixth place with one game remaining at home Saturday at 8 p.m against league-leading UC San Diego, 17-2.
The Aggie women are 12-7 and tied with UC Santa Barbara for fourth in the Big West as they conclude their season Saturday afternoon at UC San Diego.
The UCD women led Irvine, 53-46, with 4:25 remaining, but went scoreless the rest of the way as the Anteaters finished the game on a 9-0 run.
The winning basket came on a short jumper from Nikki Tom with one second remaining.
Megan Norris led UCD with 15 points, while Ryann Bennett had 11 and Tova Sabel nine.
The Irvine men, now 15-4, bolted to a 10-2 lead and were never threatened as the usually stout Aggie defense was torched by UCI's 58.8 percent shooting from the field.
The Anteaters led, 47-25, at half and enjoyed their biggest lead of the game at the final buzzer.
Myles Che had a game most players can only dream of, hitting 10 of 11 from the field, including all three 3-point attempts to lead all scorers with 31 points.
TY Johnson had 24 points as the only Aggie in double figures.
UCD shot just 36.2 percent from the field.
"We came out and hit shots right from the start," said an obviously pleased Irvine head coach Russell Turner.
"Our guys really stepped up and took control early. This is a great win for us because we have so much respect for Davis and how hard they play."
Both the Aggie men and women have already qualified for a spot in the Big West tournament March 12-15 in Henderson, Nevada.
Saturday's results will determine seedings in the tournament, with the winner heading off to the NCAA's Big Dance.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com