Visiting Rainbows bullied by inspired Aggies

The 1-2 combo of Elijah Pepper and Ty Johnson provided the decisive blows in UC Davis’ 76-63 basketball victory over Hawaii at University Credit Union Center in Davis, Calif.

A Thursday-evening crowd of 1,961 saw the Aggies connect on 63% of their shots, including 58.3% from behind the arc, to improve to 14-9 overall and 7-4 in the Big West. For the ’Bows, who fell to 16-7 and 7-4, it was the first time this season an opponent shot better than 49%.

“Really disappointed with our performance and effort,” UH coach Eran Ganot said. “Credit (the Aggies). Our defense has shown some struggles of late. It hasn’t been fixed. It was our worst defensive performance.”

UCD guards Pepper’s 29 points and Johnson’s 22 led the way.

“It was one of those games where the ball was going down for them, and we couldn’t seem to stop the momentum,” UH associate head coach John Montgomery said. “We had a push there in the second half where our guys played really hard and tried to get back into the game, but we couldn’t overcome (the deficit). We didn’t have it. We couldn’t get over the hump.”

The ’Bows led by nine points with 9:19 left in the first half before unraveling. The Aggies closed the half with a 15-3 run to lead 37-31 at the intermission.

“I thought our guys came out really well,” Ganot said. “Then we got hit in the mouth, and never responded.”

The Aggies’ lead bloated to double digits early in the second half.

The ’Bows closed to 60-52 on point guard JoVon McClanahan’s second-chance layup with 8:43 left.

But Pepper played a role in ensuing back-to-back 3s to extend the Aggies’ lead to 66-52. From the right corner, Pepper threw a wrap-around pass to Kane Milling, who hit a 3 from the left corner. “That was a back-breaker when Milling hit that,” Montgomery said.

On UCD’s next possession, Pepper buried a 3 from 24 feet.

“Every time we got in striking distance, they hit a huge 3,” Montgomery said.

It was the sixth time this season Pepper scored at least 28 points. He missed a chance to reach 30 points when he missed two free throws with 59.9 seconds remaining.

When the Aggies got the ball back, coach Jim Les called time, allowing Pepper to walk off to rousing applause.

Pepper, who entered as the Big West’s top scorer at 20.3 points per game, expanded his offense with rolling hooks and slides off screens.

Johnson left the game after being bopped on the head on a drive with 16:46 left in the first half. He was cleared during the concussion evaluation, and came back to finish with 7-for-10 shooting. Johnson, a transfer from Loyola Chicago, hit his final six free throws.

The Aggies were without guard Robby Beasley, who is recovering from a groin injury. Christian Anigwe, a 6-9 post who scored 21 points in the Dec. 29 meeting between the teams, was questionable because of an issue with his left ankle. Anigwe started but exited — for good — after aggravating the ankle halfway through the first half.

But the play of Pepper and Johnson, coupled with UH’s 23.5% 3-point shooting, evened the two-game series.

“They got loose in transition off turnovers,” Ganot said. “We had several lapses on some of their screening actions, and they got going. We never really recovered. They got very comfortable.”

UH completes the two-game road trip against Cal Poly on Saturday in San Luis Obispo, Calif.