Jan. 30, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team remains in the Bay Area this week for crucial West Coast Conference games Friday at Saint Mary's College and Saturday at San Francisco. Both games are scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. and will be carried live on the Bronco Radio Network.
Tickets are available by calling each school's respective athletic ticket office. The Broncos return home to play Gonzaga on Thursday, Feb. 7 at 7:30 p.m. at the Leavey Center. For tickets, contact the Santa Clara athletic ticket office at 408/554-4660 or click here.
The Broncos are 8-11 overall and 3-3 in the WCC following last weekend's split with Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. The Broncos held a 12-point lead early in the second half against Pepperdine but dropped a tough 74-67 to the league leading Waves. Against Loyola Marymount, Steve Ross scored 31 points and went 5-for-5 from beyond the three-point arc in a 74-64 win on Saturday.
Santa Clara men's basketball owns a league-leading 401 conference victories in the 50-year history of the WCC. The Broncos are 401-260 all-time in WCC contests for a .607 winning percentage. The 401 wins is the most of any WCC team since the league formed in 1952, 11 more than second-place San Francisco. The .607 winning percentage is second among active members.
Saint Mary's College enters Friday's game with a 5-14 overall record and 0-6 mark in WCC games. The Gaels are led by first-year head coach Randy Bennett and have already more than doubled their win total from a year ago. Saint Mary's is led by Paul Marigney's 11.6 points per game. Five Gaels average over four rebounds per game, led by Teohn Conner's 5.0 boards per game average. In conference contests, Marigney is averaging 13.5 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per game.
Santa Clara owns a 121-63 lead over Saint Mary's College in a series that dates back to the first meeting in 1910. The Broncos have won 11 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools and five of the last six.
The University of San Francisco enters a Friday night contest against San Diego with a 9-10 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the WCC. The Dons are in sole possession of third place in the league following a split at Gonzaga (L, 93-73) and Portland (W, 77-69) last weekend. Darrell Tucker leads USF in scorign and rebounding with 18.3 points and 10.1 boards per game, while Hondre Brewer is the league's career shot block leader with 246 in his career at USF.
Santa Clara owns a 96-88 series lead over USF since the first meeting between the two schools in 1908. SCU has won six of the last seven meetings but the record stands at a more even 7-5 over the last 12 games. Santa Clara has beaten USF in San Francisco four straight and 16 of the last 17. The Broncos have won 21 of their last 22 at War Memorial, including tournament games.