UC Davis Basketball: Aggies take down Grand Canyon in hostile environment

Simply put, Grand Canyon is one of the toughest places to play in college hoops and has earned its right to be labeled the “biggest party in college basketball.” 

Though, on Wednesday night, UC Davis (3-2) rode into town and defeated the Lopes (2-2) 75-68 in front of a sold out GCU crowd. 

With 7,000-plus in attendance, the Aggies were able to grab a massive win on the road, courtesy of an all-around TY Johnson masterclass. 

The Aggie guard scored 21 points, grabbed five rebounds and helped with three assists while also recording four steals. 

With that statline, Johnson shot 7-20 (35%) from the field and 0-1 from deep while going 7-7 from the charity stripe. 

Johnson currently has the second best points per game average in Division-I hoops, averaging 26.8 points per game, with only Green Bay’s Anthony Roy averaging more (27.4 PPG). 

UC Davis’ Leo DeBruhl and Pablo Tamba also contributed in the win as DeBruhl recorded 16 points, three rebounds and two assists while Tamba established 15 points and nine rebounds. 

The Aggies, as a whole, outshot the Lopes from the field going 26-57 (45.6%) while GCU went 22-59 (37.3%). UC Davis also netted more from behind the three-point arch making 46.7% of its attempted three-pointers compared to Grand Canyon’s 16%. 

Through the power of Johnson, UC Davis was already considered to be a “sneaky” tournament team and after grabbing a seven-point win in a hostile environment like GCU’s, the Aggies should be on everyone’s radar.