Coachspeak

LOS ANGELES -- It is easy to be gracious in victory, and when it was over on Thursday, Cal State Fullerton coach Bob Burton walked down the hallway and congratulated UC Davis' Gary Stewart. Among other things, Burton told Stewart he was impressed with the way the Aggies played, especially considering they were without guard Rommel Marentez. "That's like us going in without L.B.," Burton said, referring to Titan point guard Bobby Brown. High praise, indeed.

UCD isn't happy with the loss. But if you go back a month and look at what the equally athletic Long Beach State did to it, Thursday's 84-77 loss would still have to count as another positive step. The Aggies did a good job executing a very specific gameplan against Fullerton, slowing the Titans' transition game. There were only a couple of sequences when the pace sped up.

Here are a couple more notes from Thursday:

--I touched on this in the paper, but Bussey Ellis' maturation into a legitimate Division I point guard is progressing rapidly. He scored 11 points, dished seven assists and committed no turnovers in 31 minutes. In all, giving up 10 turnovers against a team like Fullerton is pretty impressive. That started with Ellis.

--You wonder how much a healthy Dominic Calegari (thumb) would have helped inside against Scott Cutley (whose 35 points were a career-high). Calegari has long arms, which might have able to provide a different look against the rock-solid Cutley. The Fullerton forward made 14-of-16 shots and seemed comfortable banging against Thomas Juillerat in the post. Juillerat is a big and tough guy in his own right, so to see someone dictate the game in the post was pretty impressive. Calegari played 12 minutes, but wasn't himself.

--I've only been on the beat for 18 games, but I don't think I've ever seen Stewart as fired up on the court as I did Thursday. My sense was that it all had a purpose. The officials allowed a high degree of physicality on both ends, which worked against the Aggies. Fullerton is a poor free throw shooting team and UCD is good. Also, it's easier to set your defense after made free throws, which has to be a constant focus against a team like Fullerton. UCD continued its fine shooting from the foul line, making 11-of-13 free throws. It would have liked some more chances.

Looking ahead to Saturday, the Aggies may actually be the favorite. UC Riverside (3-17) has lost 15 straight games and beaten only one Division I team. It's been a long year from the start, as the Highlanders lost coach David Spencer before the season when he needed surgery to repair a broken leg. Interim coach Vonn Webb has had to deal with injuries (71 missed player games) and the flagging confidence of a beaten-down team. But if there were ever a time to make a stand, this is it. Riverside won't have played since the previous Saturday and with two games in 14 days, can use this time to get its house in order.

"The most dangerous animal in the world is a wounded one," Stewart said. "They have our full concentration. We're going to have to play well to beat them."