GAME NOTES: The Cal State Northridge Matadors try to make their way back to the title game of the Big West Conference Tournament, but this time the goal is to win it all.

That quest begins on Thursday as the team takes on the UC Davis Aggies in the quarterfinals of the 40th annual event at the Honda Center.

Cal State Northridge is the eighth seed in this year's tourney after losing to Cal Poly by just two points in the final last season, 61-59, so the odds are against the Matadors already. The 2009 winner of the tournament with a 71-66 victory over Pacific, CSUN has an overall record of 9-10 in the event.

Northridge, which at one point had dropped eight straight conference outings, managed to win three of four down the stretch before suffering a 69-58 loss to Long Beach State a week ago. As a result, CSUN was just 4-12 in league action, losing both times to the Aggies, who ended up as the No. 1 seed.

UC Davis, which is still relatively new to the conference and has a record of 2-4 in the tournament, was at the opposite end of the spectrum when it came to league success, winning all but four of 16 outings as it ran off a three-game win streak to close the regular season and won 10 of the last 11 games overall. Perhaps most impressive about the Aggies is that they led the nation in win differential from 2013-2014 to 2014-15 at plus-15.

The all-time series between the squads stands at 19-13 in favor of Cal State Northridge, although the Aggies have won three straight in the relationship dating back to last season.

The winner of this bout will be back in action on Friday against an opponent to be determined based on the seeds remaining.

The Matadors, who won their only neutral-site game of the campaign but were still just 2-14 away from home overall, were led in scoring by Stephan Hicks with his 16.0 ppg, stemming from 50.2 percent accuracy from the floor. Stephen Maxwell, who was 48.2 percent from the field, added another 14.6 ppg. Maxwell also ripped down a team-high 8.1 rpg, collecting 3.3 rpg at the offensive end of the floor alone as the team created a slight advantage on the glass (0.4 rpg). Aaron Parks pitched in with 10.2 ppg, but his 34.9 percent effort from the field left a lot to be desired for a program that was being outscored by 5.4 ppg.

The Aggies managed to turn things around from last season to this thanks to the efforts of one man in particular, Corey Hawkins. The first UC Davis performer to be the named the Big West Player of the Year, Hawkins was a scoring machine for the Aggies in conference play as he poured in 20.8 ppg. Not only did he connect on 84.1 percent at the free-throw line in those game and lead the unit on the glass with 5.2 rpg, he was also one of the most accurate 3-point shooters in the league at 50.7 percent, helping to drive the entire team up to an impressive 47.1 percent on the outside. Josh Ritchart, an All-Big West Second Team selection, accounted for 11.0 ppg in conference as he made good on 46.6 percent of his long-range efforts.

While it is dangerous for teams to live and die based on 3-point shooting, the Aggies are so much more than that this season, which is why the team stands a good chance of driving deep into the tournament.