Sunday, Feb. 22, 1998
By SCOTT M. JOHNSON
Enterprise staff writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Unbeaten, untied and untested.
The UC Davis men's basketball team completed its run through the 14-game Northern California Athletic Conference schedule with a 76-63 victory over San Francisco State on Saturday.
The win gave the Aggies only the second and final unbeaten season in conference history and tied the school record for most wins in a season, two feats first turned in by the 1995-96 UCD team. This is the final year of the NCAC, as most teams are shifting to the California Collegiate Athletic Conference next year.
Yet the Aggies seem unfazed by their historic accomplishment.
``The reason it was not that big of a deal is because one of our main goals is to get out of the West (Region),'' senior point guard Travon Dugar said. ``We felt that we were supposed to win the league. Now we want to win the West. That's the reason why we weren't jumping around or celebrating: We expected this.''
Said junior Dante Ross: ``It's a great feeling, but we'd like to cap it off with two more wins in the Shaughnessy and then go on to bigger and better things.''
For the Aggies, that means the NCAA West Regional, which No. 9 UCD will probably host if it can win the Shaughnessy Tournament this week.
In the Shaughnessy, which is the NCAC postseason tournament, the Aggies will host Stanislaus State on Tuesday. Chico State and Sonoma State are in the other half. As league champion, UCD (24-2 overall) has to be defeated twice to be knocked out.
``To go 14-0, it's like the first season's finally over,'' senior Justis Durkee said. ``Now we're ready for the second season.''
The first season was rarely exciting. Saturday's contest was like most UCD's NCAC games no contest at all.
The Aggies shot 62 percent from the field in the first half, including 6 of 10 shots from 3-point range, to take a 42-33 lead at halftime, then scored the first 11 points of the second half to put the game away.
Seniors Jonathan Surface and Rick Gonzales led the way, hitting a combined 11 of 16 shots for 31 points. Surface hit all three of his 3-point attempts in the first half, while Gonzales scored nine of his 13 points in the second half.
The season was especially gratifying for Chris Vlasic and J.P. Bergez, the only seniors who played at UCD for all of the past four years, during which the Aggies won 52 of 56 conference games.
``It's a little different (than in 1995-96) because it felt like I had a part in this one,'' Bergez said. ``It was my time. The last time, I was just along for the ride. It's been a long five years, and this makes it kind of sweet, like it was all worth it.''
Coach Bob Williams said his unbeaten teams have an important similarity.
``You can compare one important factor,'' Williams said. ``They both went 14-0. They both stepped up 14 times during the season. They're different teams, and the comparisons are that they're both very competitive teams and they both were able to bring it every night.''
After the loss, 11-year SF State coach Charlie Thomas said he was not surprised to see the Aggies go unbeaten.
``They always have a chance to run the table,'' Thomas said. ``Why not? They have the best facility, and they have the best players.
``... Davis is always going to be good because Bob's a good coach.''
Williams knows the two postseason NCAC games won't be quite as easy.
``It's a whole new season,'' he said. ``There are four teams left and everyone left knows that they have a chance to go to the NCAA tournament. There are kids that have waited a lifetime to go to the NCAA tournament, and now they have that chance.''
[ Home | News | Sports | Features | Weekend | Columns | Subscribe | Advertising ]