Feb. 12, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team will play its final two regular-season home games of the 2001-2002 season this weekend when it takes on Bay Area rivals San Francisco and Saint Mary's at the Leavey Center.
The Broncos will face San Francisco Thursday at 7:30 p.m. then will host the Gaels of Saint Mary's Saturday at 2 p.m. Saturday's game will mark the final home game for five Bronco seniors: David Emslie, Justin Holbrook, Steve Ross, Brian Vaka and Jason Westphal. It will also serve as Fan Appreciation Day with a variety of giveaways and promotions planned.
Tickets are available by calling the athletic ticket office at 408/554-4660 or by clicking here.
Santa Clara is 10-13 on the season and 5-5 in the West Coast Conference. The Broncos currently sit in fourth-place in the league-standings, one game behind third-place USF and one game ahead of fifth-place San Diego. With four games remaining on the league schedule, most of the seedings for the annual WCC Tournament remain up for grabs. This weekend's games will present a more clear picture of a potential bracket for the annual postseason affair, scheduled for March 2-4 in San Diego. Click here for tickets to the WCC Tournament.
Senior Steve Ross continues to lead Santa Clara in scoring with an average of 15.6 points per game. He is also the team's most dangerous three-point threat, averaging 2.7 treys per game. Sophomore Kyle Bailey is the only other Bronco scoring in double figures, averaging 13.8 points per game and a team-high 17.7 points in league play. He scored 30 points in the loss to ninth-ranked Gonzaga last week at the Leavey Center.
San Francisco is 12-11 on the season following its 80-67 win over Loyola Marymount last Saturday in Los Angeles. The Dons have been hot of late, winning six of their last eight games, including a 77-59 victory over Santa Clara at home on Feb. 2. San Francisco entered league play with a 5-8 non-conference record, but is 7-3 in league play and in third-place heading into the weekend. Senior Darrell Tucker is San Francisco's leading scorer, averaging 19.0 points and a team-high 10.0 rebound per game. Two other USF players are in double figures on the season. John Cox is scoring at a rate of 12.5 points per game and is shooting over 46 percent from the three-point arc, while Shamell Stallworth averages 10.6 points per contest.
Saint Mary's College is 7-16 on the season and 2-8 in WCC play, which is two wins more than the Gaels managed last season. Their 63-60 win over San Diego on Feb. 2 snapped a 22-game league losing streak and their 62-44 win at Loyola Marymount marked the first back-to-back regular-season league wins since knocking-off Gonzaga and Portland at home in 1998. The Gaels are led by a pair of sophomores in guard Paul Marigney and forward Chase Poole. The duo account for 21.2 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, which makes-up 35 percent of the team's 61.2 points per game.
Santa Clara men's basketball games are broadcast live via the Bronco Radio Network, which consists of KDIA (1640 AM) in Vallejo, KSCU (103.3 FM) in Santa Clara and on the Internet by clicking here. All home games also feature a live GameTracker on the Bronco official athletic website.
Next week Santa Clara takes to the road for its final two regular-season games of the season with important league games at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. The Broncos take-on LMU Friday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. at Gersten Pavilion then play at league-leading Pepperdine Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. The Pepperdine game will be televised by Fox Sports West2.
