Cal Poly's second-half rally stops Aggie men, 86-76, in Big West Conference basketball tournament
UCD's early lead fades away as season ends in disappointing fashion
HENDERSON, NEVADA ... "That's a tough locker room right now," said UC Davis head coach Jim Les after the Aggies ended their season with a disappointing 86-76 loss to upstart Cal Poly in the opening round of the Big West Conference men's basketball tournament before a crowd of 1,105 at Lee's Family Forum.
The loss, UCD's seventh straight, gives the Aggies a final season record of 15-17.
Cal Poly moves on to meet UC Riverside Thursday in the tournament quarterfinals.
"Our guys are really emotional, but we as coaches told them how incredibly blessed we were to be able to coach them," Les added.
"They put a ton of blood, sweat and tears into this season. We had some great moments and we had some adversity, but it seems like six or seven games ago we sort of hit a wall."
Things started exceedingly well for the No. 6 Aggies, who opened by hitting eight of their first nine shots against the No. 7 Mustangs as they raced away to a 47-38 lead at half.
"I was still worried at half," Les noted.
"We were shooting the ball well, but we don't like to give up that many points. All credit to Cal Poly. They played a great game against us."
UCD's halftime lead melted away quickly early in the second half as Poly went on a 21-2 run to take a 66-56 lead and the Aggies came no closer than seven points the rest of the way.