UC Santa Barbara beats UC Davis in Big West showdown

Feb 9, 2018, 12:13 am

DAVIS, Calif. -- Leland King II finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season and UC Santa Barbara knocked off UC Davis 90-81 in a Big West Conference first-place showdown on Thursday night.

Max Heidegger added 18 points and five assists, Gabe Vincent also scored 18 and Marcus Jackson added 15 points for the Gauchos (19-5, 8-2), who shot 56 percent from the floor and made 11 of 20 3-pointers and 19 of 23 free throws (83 percent).

TJ Shorts II poured in 28 points for the Aggies (16-8, 7-3). Shorts added a season-high eight assists and matched his best effort on the boards with seven rebounds. Siler Schneider added 24 points. Shorts and Schneider combined to make 17 of 19 free throws. UC Davis connected on 48 percent from the floor, including 53 percent (10 of 19) from distance.

King's layup gave the Gauchos a 35-15 lead with 8 1/2 minutes left in the first half and they stretched it to 22 points by intermission. Schneider and Shorts did most of the damage in an 11-0 run to pull the Aggies within 77-70 with 5:25 left, but King's 3-point play pushed the lead back to double digits and the Gauchos made 6 of 6 free throws in the final 46 seconds.