Cal Poly men suffer heartbreaking loss at UC Davis on buzzer beater

Posted: Jan 10, 2013 10:48 PM by Andrew Masuda
Updated: Jan 10, 2013 11:42 PM

Cal Poly men lose at UC Davis on buzzer-beater

UC Davis' Corey Hawkins hit the game-winning jumper right at the buzzer to hand Cal Poly its first Big West Conference loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion. The Aggies erased an early 16 point first half deficit to beat the visiting Mustangs 69-67 Thursday.

J.T. Adenrele was 8 of 8 from the field and led the Aggies with 15 points. Hawkins had 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds for the Aggies, who won their first Big West game of the season. Ryan Sypkens had 15 points, and Josh Ritchart had 10 for UC Davis, which is now 1-2 in conference and 5-9 overall.

Cal Poly led 37-31 at halftime. In the last 13 minutes of the second half, the score was tied six times. With nine seconds to play, Cal Poly's Dylan Royer hit three free throws, tying the game at 67. The Aggies elected to inbound without taking a timeout and, with two seconds left, UC Davis senior guard Paolo Mancasola had a three-pointer blocked by Cal Poly freshman guard Reese Morgan. Hawkins, however, collected the loose ball and sank the game-winning effort as time expired.

Royer, a Morro Bay High graduate, hit five 3's to finish with a career-high 19 points. Chris Eversley had 18 points and 5 rebounds and Brian Bennett had 11.

Eversley scored four early buckets and Royer hit two quick three-pointers to help the Mustangs build a commanding 24-8 lead after ten minutes. Cal Poly forced the Aggies into seven turnovers in the first twelve minutes. However, UC Davis closed the half on an 18-9 run.

The Aggies shot 60.5 percent from the field for the game. Cal Poly shot 39 percent.

The Mustangs, who had a chance to make program history with its first-ever 4-0 start in Big West play, dropped to 3-1 in conference and into a three-way tie for first place. They are 7-7 overall after their three game winning streak was snapped. The Mustangs can still establish a new program record for best start to a Big West schedule when visiting Pacific on Saturday, Jan. 12 at 7 p.m. The Tigers (8-7, 2-1) hammered UC Santa Barbara earlier Thursday, 80-62.