Bronco Men to Host 34th Annual Cable Car Classic

Dec. 24, 2000

Cable Car Central

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Another strong tournament field awaits the Santa Clara men's basketball team this weekend when it hosts the 34th annual Cable Car Classic featuring Fordham, George Mason and Stanford on Dec. 29 - 30 at the Leavey Center.

Santa Clara will face George Mason in the first game of the event on Friday at 6 p.m., while Stanford will take-on Fordham in the nightcap. The consolation game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday with the championship game immediately following. Saturday's consolation game will be preceeded by the Santa Clara women playing Texas Tech at 2 p.m. All games will be played in the new Leavey Center on the Santa Clara campus.

A limited number of tickets remain for the event. Tickets may be purchased by either contacting the athletic ticket office at 408/554-4660 or on the Internet at www.santaclarabroncos.com.

Santa Clara will be playing its third regular-season tournament of the season and owns a 5-6 overall record following its 73-65 win over Nevada on Saturday. The Broncos opened the season at the Top of the World Classic in Fairbanks, Alaska then played at the Gazette Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa two weeks later.

Senior guard Brian Jones leads Santa Clara in scoring with an average of 18.9 points per game. The Carson, Calif. native poured-in 25 points in the win over Nevada to go with six assists and five rebounds. He scored a season-high 32 points in a double-overtime win against Chattanooga earlier this season.

Senior co-captain Jamie Holmes is Santa Clara's rebounding leader and second-leading scorer, averaging 7.4 boards and 13.7 points per game. A native of Merced, Calif., Holmes has three double-doubles this season, including his 18-point, 13-rebound performance Saturday against the Wolf Pack.

Santa Clara's first-round opponent, George Mason, is 7-2 on the season and a perfect 2-0 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Senior George Evans is the CAA preseason player of the year and leads the Patriots in scoring with an average of 20.0 points per game. He scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in George Mason's 64-50 win over Miami (Ohio) Friday. A 6-7 forward, Evans is also the team's rebounding leader with an average of 7.9 per game.

Fordham is 6-3 on the season following a high-scoring 107-91 loss at Siena College on Saturday. Four Rams are in double-figures in scoring on the season, led by Bevon Robin's 17.2 points per game. Center Duke Freeman-McKam is the team's rebounding leader with a double-figure average of 10.0 boards per game. Against Siena, the Rams shot 53 percent from the field and connected on 11-of-26 three-point field goals but sent Siena to the free throw line 38 times.

Stanford was ranked No. 3 in the nation prior to last week's 84-83 win over top-ranked Duke in the Pete Newell Challenge at the Oakland Coliseum. The Cardinal are a perfect 9-0 on the season and has wins over Georgia Tech, Georgia, Memphis and Old Dominion to its credit. Stanford is averaging 85.1 points per game and a 26-point margin of victory on the season. Casey Jacobsen is the leader of four Stanford players averaging in double-figures, knocking-in 17.3 points per game. Center Jason Collins is averaging a team-leading 10 boards per game.