UC Davis wins in First Four

DAYTON, Ohio — The UC Davis men’s basketball team overcame 18 turnovers and rallied in the second half to win its first-ever NCAA tournament game, beating an opponent whose poor shooting ensured it would be one-and-done.

Chima Moneke had 18 points and 12 rebounds as 16th-seeded UC Davis (25-9) beat North Carolina Central 67-63 in a First Four game Wednesday night to earn a trip to Tulsa to play No. 1 seed Kansas on Friday.

“I feel like I’m a confident player, and I got it going early,” Moneke said. “And I like the matchup that I had. And you know, my teammates were doing a great job of moving the ball, and I felt that if we continued to do that, I would put us in a successful position to score most of the time.”

Down by three points at halftime, the Aggies went on an 11-2 run to start the second half and led by nine before the streaky Eagles (25-9) forced some turnovers and chipped away at the lead.

They pulled within 64-63 with 1:49 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Dajuan Graf, then got the ball back with 37 seconds left, but another 3-point try by Graf was off the mark. Graf had to foul Lawrence White, who made two free throws with 16 seconds remaining to create some breathing room, and Brynton Lemar hit a foul shot with four seconds left to put it away.

Lemar scored 15 points and White added 14 for UC Davis, which had earned a trip to the tournament by winning the Big West Conference tournament.

UC Davis came out and grabbed momentum and led by nine points in the first half before N.C. Central could get its feet. The Eagles stormed back with a 16-3 run and led 34-31 at halftime, thanks in part to nine turnovers by the Aggies.

“Our guys grew up as little hoopers dreaming about playing and having this opportunity,” UC Davis coach Jim Les said. “And so it’s special to be here. And we’re just going to continue to fight to keep this story going.”