GAME NOTES: The Aggies of UC Davis try to bounce back from their first loss of the season as they host the Eastern Illinois Panthers in non-conference action on Tuesday night.

UC Davis got off to an impressive 6-0 start to the 2014-15 campaign and is sporting an unblemished 4-0 mark at home, but the team had the successful run snapped over the weekend at Idaho in a 79-71 loss. Unfortunately for the Aggies, the schedule gets a bit tougher from here as the team hits the road for four straight before playing in front of the hometown crowd again on Jan. 3 versus Cal Maritime.

As for the Panthers, making just their second trip to the Golden State, they won only one of their first six games this season, but have shown signs of turning it around with back-to-back victories over the likes of Southern University and Ball State.

The Aggies won the only previous meeting between the programs, a little less than three weeks ago in Illinois by a score of 63-61. In that contest, Corey Hawkins tallied a game-high 28 points to pace UC Davis, while Trae Anderson had 16, one of four players in double figures for the hosts.

The Panthers appeared ready to move back into the loss column last week against Ball State at Lantz Arena, missing all six chances behind the 3-point line and sinking only six field goals in the first half, but after a 24-18 deficit at the break the team stormed back with 60.9 percent accuracy from the floor to claim the win. The comeback bid was spearheaded by the reserves as they tallied 38 of the team's 61 points, led by Chris Olivier with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots, followed by Trae Anderson with a double-double consisting of 13 points and 11 boards.

Anderson, who has come off the bench more often than he has started, is responsible for a team-best 10.9 ppg as he shoots 39.0 percent from the floor. Olivier checks in with another 10.1 ppg, although his 43.3 percent effort at the free-throw line is one of the reasons why the program is producing a mere 56.5 ppg. Luckily, the EIU defense has managed to limit foes to only 58.6 ppg at the same time in order to make things interesting.

Ahead by eight points at the break against Idaho, the Aggies were more than holding their own over the weekend as they shot an impressive 56.5 percent from the floor, including 6-of-8 behind the 3-point line through the first 20 minutes of action. However, the second half was a much different story for the visitors as they converted just nine total field goals and 4-of-16 on the perimeter, en route to the first setback of the season.

Corey Hawkins did all he could to keep UC Davis undefeated as he tallied a season-high 33 points on 6-of-11 shooting beyond the arc, but it simply was not enough. Fellow starter Josh Ritchart accounted for 14 points and six rebounds, hitting 4-of-9 shots from the floor which means the rest of the team was a combined 8-of-24 on the afternoon.

The leading scorer for the Aggies in four of their first seven outings, Hawkins is responsible for 20.3 ppg as he shoots not only 53.4 percent from the floor but also a sizzling 55.6 percent (24-of-45) behind the 3-point line. In addition to being a scoring threat every time he touches the ball, Hawkins is also tied for the team lead with 21 assists, is clearing 4.7 rpg and has a team-best 13 steals as well. Ritchart pitches in with 12.6 ppg and 4.6 rpg, but his assist total (two) is nowhere near that of Hawkins currently.

The Aggies aren't about to challenge for a spot among the nationally-ranked, but against opponents on the scale of EIU they are more than competent enough to come away with a victory, particularly at home.