Sunday, Dec. 13, 1998
By KIM ORENDOR
Enterprise staff writer
CARSON -- With senior starter J.C. Timmons on the bench with a bum ankle, the UC Davis men's team needed a big night from its bench.
Mission accomplished.
Scott Darmstadt, the Aggies traditional sixth-man, moved up a spot for his first career start. He grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds, and Keith Johnson came off the bench to score 13 points as UCD defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills 55-49 in a California Collegiate Athletic Association game Saturday.
``Down the stretch, I think the bench helped out enormously,'' junior forward Jason Cox said. ``We really relied on those guys tonight.''
Cox and senior point guard Dante Ross contributed their own expertise in the final six minutes to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point margin of victory.
Trailing 40-38 with 5:46 to play, Cox drove the lane and dropped in a soft layup to knot the score at 40-40. Darmstadt put UCD (7-1, 4-0) up 42-40 when he sank two free throws.
The Toros would not go away, however. Reggie Williams nailed a 3-pointer with 4:15 remaining to give Dominguez Hills a one-point lead.
The third-ranked Aggies missed on their next trip down the court, and the Toros were off and running. Unfortunately for the Toros, they ran into Johnson, who promptly stuffed Emanuel Brown.
``It's always tough down inside, especially in this league,'' Johnson said. ``I felt this was a good challenge for us. We're one of the top representatives from the north. A lot of people feel we can't come down here and play.''
Ross let all 526 in attendance know that the defending national champions can play anywhere when he nailed a 3-pointer to give UCD a 45-43 lead. The Aggies never trailed again.
``I think both teams defended pretty well,'' Toros coach Larry Hauser said. ``I think we made crucial mistakes down the stretch and they didn't.''
Several of the mistakes were poor shot selection. The Toros (2-5, 1-3) started taking a lot of long-range shots and gave up trying to move the ball inside. UCD took full advantage, grabbing rebounds and eating up the clock.
The Toros took 16 shots from behind the 3-point arc in the second half and made five. Dominguez Hills missed six bombs in the final five minutes.
``It was a real ugly game,'' Cox said. ``We didn't get into a rhythm, and they didn't get into much of a rhythm. It was who could be the least ugly at the end.''
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