UCD post John Surina gets happy about pulling down a rebound against a laughable Dominican College defense. Photo by Wayne Tilcock / Aggie

However, the loss was the only blemish in an otherwise successful break for the Aggies, who went 4-1 between Dec. 11 and Dec. 30. Davis improved its record to 9-2 overall and 5-1 in conference.

The Aggies went on their longest road trip of the season over the break, facing four tough conference opponents on the road before hosting not-so-tough nonconference opponent Dominican College, which UCD sent packing 74-44. The Aggies' performance over the break moved them up three spots to number four in the rankings.

"We've positioned ourselves well through the first three weeks of the CCAA season, and we've got to build on it," UCD head coach Brian Fogel said. "We still have a tough stretch with seven of our next nine on the road."

Against DC, the Aggies were led by wing Scott Darmstadt, who recorded a career-high 18 points and seven rebounds. UCD's defense held Dominican to 35 percent shooting, including two of 16 from behind the arc. Davis outrebounded the Penguins 38-24.

Prior to the game against Dominican, the Aggies hadn't played since defeating Grand Canyon University 67-63 in Arizona. A go-ahead basket by post Jason Cox with 49 seconds to play and a steal by guard Keith Jackson with nine seconds sealed a hard-fought win for the Aggies.

For Davis to even have an opportunity to win, it had to rally from a 25-12 deficit in the first half. Jackson, however, had six points in the first half and UCD fought back to trail 30-24 at the break.

"I thought we started to beat them to the ball down the stretch," Fogel said. "We got some open-court opportunities and were just able to play the way we like."

Guard Dante Ross' rare miss from the baseline at the buzzer locked up the game for Pomona. But the Aggies, a traditionally strong free-throw shooting team, came up short from the line in their loss against Pomona, hitting just 21 of 33 freebies. Davis is hitting on .694 free throws this season.

"Dante Ross was able to get to the bucket and it looked like it was three-quarters in," Fogel said. "But I felt the game never should've been in that position if we had made our free throws in the game."

Dante Ross releases a shot against the puckering lips of the Dominican defense. Photo by Wayne Tilcock / Aggie

The Aggies pulled away late in their Dec. 12 game against Cal State Dominguez Hills. Freshman post Keith Johnson and Cox each scored 13 points to lead Davis to a 55-49 win. Up to that point, the Aggies were the only unbeaten team in the CCAA.

Johnson, whose previous scoring high was four points, hit five of eight shots in the game and, at one point early in the second half, scored six straight points as UCD took a 30-26 lead. In addition to his 13 points, Johnson also pulled down four rebounds.

"Johnson was nails for us," Fogel said. "He ran the floor harder than any of the other guys and deserved to be out there."

Cox hit six of 11 shots and had seven rebounds, while Darmstadt had a game-high 10 boards. The win was the seventh-straight game Davis held its opponents to 55 points or less.

Against Cal State Los Angeles, Ross scored 24 points and led the Aggies to another late rally and eventual 55-47 victory. The Aggies outscored the Golden Eagles 9-1 down the stretch. Ross hit 10 of 12 shots for Davis, while picking up three assists and four steals. He also scored eight points in the final five minutes to help UCD, which trailed by as many as seven points in the second half. Davis made five free throws in the final minute to secure the win; Ross had two of them.

"Dante Ross was the difference tonight," said Fogel after the game. "We picked up our defense down the stretch and we executed on offense better than we had all night. We didn't panic."

The Aggies are in action this weekend as they square off against conference opponents Cal State Stanislaus and Cal State Bakersfield; both games are at home. Friday, against Stanislaus, tip-off is at 8 p.m. or 30 minutes after the end of the women's game, whichever is later. Saturday, game time is at 7 p.m. against Bakersfield. Both games are free for students with a registration card, and since it is the first week of school, there is no reason you shouldn't be there.