SACRAMENTO, Calif. — UC Davis went on a 12-2 run during the final 2:20 of the first half and never trailed in the second half on the way to an 81-72 victory over Sacramento State in front of 10,104 fans at the first-ever collegiate basketball game played at the brand new downtown Golden 1 Center.

With the victory, UC Davis (4-1) won its fourth straight game while the Hornets dropped to 1-3 with the loss. Sacramento State was playing its first like opponent of the season after opening with a pair of games against Power Five conference schools followed by an NAIA opponent.

The Aggies and Hornets were playing the first game of an agreement that will see the two teams play at the Golden 1 Center four consecutive years near the Thanksgiving holiday.

Tonight marked the 115th meeting between the two teams, and Sacramento State now owns a 66-49 record against the Aggies in the Hornets' longest standing rivalry against any opponent. That includes a 5-4 record against UC Davis during head coach Brian Katz's tenure at Sacramento State.

Tonight also marked the first neutral floor game between the two rivals since a 103-79 Sacramento State victory at Arco Arena on Dec. 15, 1989.

The Hornets seemingly were in control after Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa drained a 3-pointer with 2:41 left in the first half to give the team its largest lead of the game at 32-24. However, UC Davis responded with a momentum crushing run to end the half as five different Aggies scored during the 12-2 spurt. No points were bigger than Darius Graham's banked 3-pointer at the buzzer to give UC Davis a 36-34 halftime lead.

Both teams battled back and forth during the first part of the second half as Justin Strings sunk a pair of free throws to get the Hornets within, 42-40, with 15:26 to play. The Aggies then followed with a 15-5 run over the next 5:02 to take a 57-45 lead with 10:23 left. Sacramento State would get as close as seven points of the Aggie lead on a pair of occasions, but each time UC Davis responded with a 3-pointer.

A problem area thus far in the young season for Sacramento State was glaring once again this evening. The Hornets' perimeter game suffered as the team shot just 25 percent (7-28) from the 3-point line and the team is now shooting .261 from distance this season. Overall, the Hornets shot .373 (25-67) from the field, including .294 (10-34) in the second half.

Meanwhile, UC Davis shot a very proficient 50 percent (29-58) from the field and the 3-point line (8-16) while also burying 15-of-18 free throw attempts (.833). Sacramento State did have advantages in points off turnovers (15-4) and second chance points (16-11), but it was not nearly enough. The opposition is now shooting 50 percent (35-70) from the 3-point line against Sacramento State's defense this season.

The Hornets had just nine turnovers while compiling five blocked shots and a season-high 10 steals, but had just 10 assists on 25 made buckets. Four Sacramento State players scored in double figures, led by sophomore Grant Dressler's career-high 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field, 3-for-4 from the 3-point line and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. He also pulled four rebounds, and had a pair of assists and a steal in 23 minutes.

Joining Dressler in double figures for the Hornets were Nick Hornsby (14 points, 9 rebounds), Justin Strings (12 points, 10 rebounds) and Marcus Graves (12 points, four assists and four steals). The foursome combined for all but 19 of the Hornets' 81 points. The double-double was the third of the season for Strings, and Hornsby narrowly missed his third.

Making the first start of his collegiate career, Mauriohooho-Le'afa, a true freshman, had six points and an assist in 28 minutes. Jiday Ugbaja had five points, Eric Stuteville four points and Joshua Patton had three blocked shots and four fouls in six minutes.

For UC Davis, Brynton Lemar had a career-best 23 points (18 in the second half) to go along with six rebounds and five assists in 38 minutes. Chima Moneke added 15 points and 13 rebounds, Mikey Henn had 13 points and both J.T. Adenrele and Graham had 10 points.

Sacramento State was playing the first of three straight neutral site games as the Hornets will play a pair of games this weekend in Cheney, Wash. That includes a matchup with San Francisco on Saturday, and Denver on Sunday.