Feb. 17, 2001
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) - Steve Ross scored a career-high 23 points and added 10 rebounds leading Santa Clara to a 72-56 victory over St. Mary's on Saturday night.
Jamie Holmes contributed 19 points and eight rebounds while Kyle Bailey added 10 for the Broncos (16-11, 8-4 WCC), who remained in third place in the WCC.
Jovan Harris scored 22 points for the Gaels (2-23, 0-12 WCC), who lost their 16th straight game. Teammate Chris Schlatter added 11 points.
The game was plagued by 52 fouls, 64 free throws, 35 turnovers and poor shooting. St. Mary's made just 15-of-48 shots from the floor (31 percent) while the Broncos were 23-for-53 (43 percent).
Ross, whose previous high was 22, made 6-of-11 shots and 9-for-10 free throws.
A 3-pointer by Harris gave St. Mary's its only lead 5-4 before Santa Clara scored 24 of the next 32 points to take a 28-15 halftime lead. The Gaels couldn't penetrate Santa Clara's bigger and stronger interior defense, taking 18 of their 26 first-half shots from beyond 3-point range. They made five.
Ross and Bailey had 10 points each, leading the Broncos to a 35-26 halftime lead.
During a halftime-shooting contest, John Sullivan of San Francisco swished a halfcourt shot to win a 2001 Ford Explorer.