UC Davis 78, S. Illinois 70

Published Dec. 20, 2012 10:19 p.m. ET

foxsports

Corey Hawkins scored 20 points, going a perfect 12 for 12 from the free-throw line and UC Davis shot nearly 50 percent from the floor to beat Southern Illinois 78-70 in the first round of the World Vision Challenge on Thursday night.

Hawkins added six rebounds and six assists to his point total and teammate J.T. Adenrele scored 18 points and pulled 11 rebounds. Ryan Sypkens added 15 points and Ryan Howley scored only six points but grabbed 15 rebounds.

UC Davis (3-6) shot 49 percent from the floor, making 25 of 51 shots and was 21 of 24 from the free-throw line as a team. The Aggies trailed 37-35 before Sypkens hit two key 3-pointers to spark a 15-4 run mid-way through the second half.

The Aggies held Southern Illinois (6-3) to just 34.8 percent shooting. Dantiel Daniels scored 23 points and Desmar Jackson had 18 points.