Jan. 15, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team will put its four-game home win streak on the line Wednesday when it hosts West Coast Conference rival San Diego in a 7:30 p.m tipoff at the newly-renovated Leavey Center.
Santa Clara has won 74 percent of its games at home under head coach Dick Davey, including a 48-15 record in league games for a .762 winning percentage since the 1992-93 season. Last season, the Broncos went 5-2 at home with wins over Gonzaga and Portland to close out the regular-season at the Leavey Center. In the season-and-a-half since the major renovation of the Leavey Center, Santa Clara has posted a 14-5 home record going into Wednesday's contest.
For tickets to Bronco men's basketball games, contact the athletic ticket office at 408/554-04660 or click here. A specially-priced package that includes the entire WCC home schedule is available through Wednesday. Fr details, click here. At Wednesday's game, all kids wearing their youth team basketball jersey will receive admission for $2.
The Broncos opened its bid for Davey's fourth WCC title on the road last weekend at No. 18 Gonzaga and Portland. Santa Clara outscored the Bulldogs by a 53-43 margin and senior forward Steve Ross scored 25 of his career-high 38 points in the second half but the Broncos' upset bid fell short by an 83-81 margin. The Broncos shot 48 percent from behind the three-point arc and took advantage of a 21-11 margin in second-chance points to nearly win at Gonzaga for the first time since a 73-68 victory behind Steve Nash's 40-point outburst in 1995.
In Sunday's game at Portland, the Broncos evened their WCC record to 1-1 with an 84-73 win over the Pilots. The win stretched Santa Clara's win streak over Portland to nin-straight. Four Broncos scored in double-figures, led by sophomore guard Kyle Bailey's 18-point, nine rebound, six assist outing. Senior forward Jason Westphal recorded career highs with 11 points and nine rebounds in the game.
San Diego enters the game with a 9-6 overall record and 1-1 league record following nearly an identical first weekend in the Northwest as the Broncos. The Toreros knocked-off Portland 65-64 in the first game of the series before falling to Gonzaga by a 75-62 margin on Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Andre Laws leads USD with an average of 18.1 points per game. Junior center Jason Blair increased his scoring average to 12.6 point per game with his 28-point, 11-rebound outing against Portland last weekend.
Santa Clara will honor its fall sports teams at halftime of Wednesday game. Santa Clara won three of the five available WCC titles during the fall and finished second in the remaining two sports. The Broncos won league titles in women's soccer, women's cross country and men's soccer and finished second in men's cross country and women's volleyball. The men's water polo team does not compete in WCC competition and particiated in the Western Water Polo Association. Santa Clara leads the inaugural Commissioner's Cup, an all-sports competition among league schools, by a 38-29.5 margin over second-place Portland following the fall.