Sunday, March 8, 1998
By SCOTT M. JOHNSON
Enterprise staff writer
The revenge tour is complete, and now the UC Davis men's basketball team is ready to venture into unchartered territory.
For the second consecutive night, the Aggies avenged one of their two losses with an 80-52 win over Seattle Pacific in the championship game of the NCAA Division II West Regional. The victory sends UCD to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
``We'll have to wait until next week to find out where this (win) ranks until the next one,'' UCD coach Bob Williams said. ``But as of right now, this is by far the biggest win that we've had in our program.''
UCD, which will face West Texas A&M in Louisville, Ky., on March 18, received a big lift from sophomore Jason Cox, who had his most effective game since suffering a foot injury in January. Cox led all scorers with 20 points, and the Aggies jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back.
While UCD (28-2) came out inspired by another raucus Hamilton Court crowd of 3,737, Seattle Pacific was as cold as the Great Northwest. The Falcons missed 18 of their first 20 shots, including Jeff McBroom's wide-open dunk attempt that careened off the rim and shot high into the air.
Despite two 3-pointers by McBroom, Seattle Pacific could not generate any inside game, and after backup UCD point guard Travon Dugar nailed a 3-pointer, the Aggies held a 17-6 with 12:41 remaining in the first half.
Just when the sixth-seeded Falcons (18-12) started to chip away at their deficit, Dugar, who hit 1 of 8 shots from 3-point range during the season, buried another to ignite a 10-point run. Suddenly the Aggies held a 16-point lead.
``That was our pregame talk, to isolate Tra for the 3 and let him shoot the ball,'' Williams joked. ``It's not something that any of our players are told to do, but it's something that most of the players the green light to do if they're open and they feel it.''
UCD went into halftime with a 36-22 lead, due in part to 7-of-34 shooting by Seattle Pacific.
``The last few nights we've had success on the inside, and that opened things up outside,'' said McBroom, who scored 16 points. ``Even when we got the shots, things weren't going our way. The shots would roll around and bounce out. We couldn't get anything going.''
Seattle Pacific never did warm up either, hitting only two of its first 17 shots of the second half. For the game, the Falcons shot 25 percent from the field (18 of 71).
SPU's lackluster shooting could be traced to fatigue and the Aggies' interior defense.
The Falcons, who had to play three games in three nights, said UCD had the edge with a first-round bye.
``We played three games in a row, and they played two,'' SPU coach Ken Bone said. ``That was the biggest difference. I think it's an advantage to have a bye, and that's why they set it up that way -- to reward the teams that have the best seasons.''
Defensively, UCD was able to contain Seattle Pacific's 6-foot-9 center, Chuck Carter, to only eight points. Carter, who was the main thorn in the Aggies' side in the December loss, scored 34 points in the first two games of the tournament.
``In the first half, they really made it tough for me to even get the ball,'' Carter said. ``Every time I got it, they collapsed on me. I didn't force that many bad shots, but I forced enough.''
Whenever Carter got the ball, three or four Aggies were crashing in, flailing their arms to create havoc.
Williams credited senior Justis Durkee for containing Carter, who scored 14 points and added eight rebounds in Seattle Pacific's 81-68 win on Jan. 2.
``One of the more dominant performances I have seen in an Aggie uniform during my entire career here was Justis Durkee tonight,'' Williams said. ``Justis Durkee was phenomenal in his defensive game and his rebounding. With his quickness, he beat Chuck to every position on the floor that Chuck wanted to go to tonight.''
``Throughout my career I've always had to be kind of the David going against Goliath,'' the 6-foot-4 Durkee said. ``I've always had to play against the bigger guys.''
Despite the performances of Durkee and Cox, UCD's win was led by a typically-balanced Aggie attack. Valuable minutes from reserves like Dugar, Keith Jackson and J.P. Bergez helped wear SPU down.
Tournament most outstanding player Dante Ross, who played sparingly in the first meeting with SPU due to the flu, was thinking more of the future than the past.
``This is nice and all, but I want three more wins,'' the junior point guard said while clutching the game ball with both arms. ``We have six seniors on the team and Chris (Vlasic) and Jonathan (Surface), both my roommates, graduate after this year. This is my last time playing with them, and I want to send them out on a good note.''
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