Post-game quotes:

TY Johnson:

“We looked in each other’s eyes and said there was still a lot of time left,” said Johnson, a transfer from Loyola of Chicago.

“It all starts with the bond we formed in the locker room. We believed we could do it. I give credit to my coaches and teammates for believing in me to take the last shot. A win like this can start a trickle and give us another win streak. Come March, we want to be able to get into the NCAA tournament and make miracles happen.”

Jim Les:

“TY was spectacular,” offered UCD head coach Jim Les without fear of contradiction.

“This team has a refuse-to-lose attitude, and we knew near the end we just had to put the ball in the hands of number two (Johnson) and let him do the rest.”

“We got really animated at the end,” Les added. “We got after it and made some plays. We needed to get it back one possession at a time. You’re going to have nights where everything isn’t falling, and you have to give Cal Poly credit for making some tough shots.

“I’m really happy for this group and this is a game we can look back on if we get in a similar situation down the road.”

https://www.aggiesportstalk.com/discussion/2048/mbb-california-polytechnic-7-12-1-6-at-uc-davis-11-8-4-3-sat-jan-21-300-pm

A tale of two different halves, the Aggies shot a blistering 59.26% from the field in the second half and were fueled by raised defense intensity which led to the Aggies dictating the pace of play. Getting out in transition has been an emphasis all season, and once the Aggies were able to string together some stops behind Johnson with his four steals, UC Davis capitalized on the 20 Mustang turnovers.

Dominating the paint and getting downhill after creating a staggering seven turnovers in the final 4:49 of play, UC Davis was able to pull of the near impossible. Leading for only 46 seconds throughout the game, it was all the Aggie would need to find themselves back in the win column.

https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2023/1/21/mens-basketball-aggies-pull-off-miraculous-comeback-against-cal-poly.aspx

CSUN 69 Fullerton 66 in OT (CSUN gets their first conference win of the season)
UCSB 76 Bakersfield 58

The number of band members that show up at the BB games has really shrunk though. There were just a few saxophones, a drum, a clarinet and a couple of tubas at the Riverside game. There used to be 40 or 50 not that long ago.

I agree. They're certainly better than their record. They controlled the game today for 35 minutes. Very tough loss for Poly.

It was a made for Hollywood rally in the last 5 minutes. I thought we were headed for a 15-20 point loss when they had us down 13 with under 5 to go. So much fun for sure!

In other BW games today:

Hawaii 67 Riverside 63
Long Beach 112 San Diego 110 in 3 OT (Marcus Tsohonis had 46 points for the Beach)
Fullerton at CSUN 7 pm
Bakersfield at Santa Barbara 7 pm

We just got home. Wow...what a finish for the Aggies! We were down 13 with 4:49 to go and managed to go on a frantic 15-0 run to win it over a very good Cal Poly team. TY Johnson was sensational in the final 3 minutes with 3 steals and some amazing layups driving the lane through traffic and Poly's 7'1 post.

Pepper gutted out a shoulder injury he sustained in the first 3 minutes of the game. He's as competitive as they come. That shoulder may feel worse in the morning. I hope he heals up quickly. It was great to see Ade make some buckets too.

Poly is a good basketball team. They are very long and athletic and their tenacious zone kept us bottled up for most of the game but the Ags simply would not quit and won it with a tenacious defense of their own in the final 5 minutes. Great win by the Ags and an excruciating loss for the Mustangs.

That was a brutal half for the Ags. Down 29-20. We shot 26% including 1-7 from 3 and 5-10 from the line. Pepper is playing with a left shoulder injury and is having difficulty raising his arm above his shoulder. I hope it’s not a rotator cuff injury.

I think this is a must win game for us today. We have to establish a tough, home court advantage and we can't afford to lose to teams that we "should" beat if we are going to be a contender. We'll put more fans in the seats also if we can string together a stretch of home court wins and then build upon the energy and momentum as the season winds down to crunch time in the weeks ahead.

It is unfortunate that Ade struggles so much to score. He's so athletic and strong and is a fantastic defender but he just seems so unsure when he has a chance to score.

I'm a big fan of putting ball in the hands of your ace playmakers when the game is on the line and give them a chance to create a play and make a bucket and/or get fouled. That's exactly what Riverside did and it won the game for them.

Post-game comments from Les:

“We wanted to force them to the left at the end, but he managed to drive to the right, which is his strength,” said a disappointed Aggie head coach Jim Les afterward.

“We had a couple of defensive lapses there at the end that ended up being the difference. We have to stop shooting ourselves in the foot at the end of the half and the end of the game.”

“The nice part about this is we have about 12 hours to think about this one and then we get back at it with Cal Poly,” Les added.

“If we can learn from our mistakes and get better, we can be a pretty good basketball team.”

https://www.davisenterprise.com/sports/basketball-uc-davis-men-3/

Do you foresee the Aggies bringing in any players from the portal this year?

Good for him...going out at the pinnacle of his career.

Anigwe has really developed into a wonderful basketball player and he's a pleasure to watch.

I think we can play with anybody in the league but we have to find a way to win these close games.

In other BW games today:

LB State 72 Fullerton 67
UCSB 72 CSUN 52
San Diego 71 Cal Poly 64
Irvine 76 Hawaii 68

This was a great game between two very good teams and a tough one to lose at home though. UCR is an impressive basketball team with good size and depth. After watching them beat SB and then seeing them today, I think they are a bona fide contender for the BW title...right up there with Irvine and UCSB.

I caught some of the radio, post-game interview with Les and he said that we had a couple of defensive mistakes in the final two minutes that really hurt us. He said they knew Pullin likes to drive to the right so they talked about forcing him to go left on that final possession but we allowed him to go to the right and make made the bucket. He also said that we have to stop going into the half behind.

The Ags are up 30-19 at the half.

33-28 Highlanders at the half. We’ve had some good ball movement but are having trouble getting the shots to fall. Riverside is a tough matchup for us inside when they go big.