GAME NOTES: The Aggies of UC Davis try to remain perfect on the season as they host local foe San Jose State for a non-conference battle on Wednesday night.

After five games the Aggies still own an unblemished record, although some of the competition on the early schedule is not exactly the cream of the crop. The most recent victory for Davis came on Saturday against an overwhelmed Utah Valley group, 64-43, with the points allowed being the second-fewest this season behind the 42 given up to Holy Names in the opener.

While UC Davis is still enjoying life as an undefeated squad, the Spartans are at the other end of the spectrum with just a single win in seven chances. Since defeating Bethesda in the first game of the season, 67-44, SJSU has fumbled along during a six-game slide. On Sunday the team was whipped by Princeton, 69-54, in the final game of the Wooden Legacy.

In terms of the all-time series between the two programs, SJSU leads by a 15-7 margin.

Against Princeton at the Honda Center, Jordan Baker scored a game-high 23 points for the Spartans, but it was not nearly enough to keep SJSU competitive as the team turned the ball over 18 times and allowed the Tigers to shoot 56.5 percent from the field, including 8-of-17 behind the 3-point line. Frank Rogers was credited with seven points and four rebounds for San Jose State, but shot a feeble 2-of-11 from the floor in the contest.

Baker currently leads the Spartans in scoring after seven games with his 11.5 ppg, as he shoots only 38.2 percent from the floor, although he has helped teammates to get involved in the action with his 24 assists. Rogers, who is shooting just 38.3 percent, contributes another 10.2 ppg and is first on the glass with 6.0 rpg, but for someone who has the ball in his hands so much, he should at this point have more than only five assists even by accident for a team that is scoring a mere 59.3 ppg.

UC Davis scored the first points of the game against Utah Valley and never looked back, holding the visitors to just six field goals in the first half and 29.4 percent shooting from the floor overall. The defense for the Aggies also forced Utah Valley into 16 turnovers, which was one more than the team had made field goals. Corey Hawkins scored a game-high 18 points for Davis, hitting 4-of-9 beyond the arc, followed by Josh Fox and J.T. Adenrele with 12 and 11 points, respectively.

Thanks to another standout performance at the defensive end of the floor, the Aggies are now permitting just 54.2 ppg on 36.6 percent shooting from the floor. Hawkins accounts for 17.8 ppg as he paces the offense with his 51.7 percent accuracy behind the 3-point line, not to mention clearing 5.2 rpg and leading the program in both assists (18) and steals (12), while turning the ball over just five times.

In the past UC Davis would be a team that the Spartans would have little trouble taking down, but SJSU is a team in transition right now. Granted, the Aggies have not played too many quality opponents, but still there's something to be said about gaining confidence and playing at home.