Dec. 14, 2001
DAYTON, Ohio - The Santa Clara men's basketball team will be looking to get back on the winning track Saturday afternoon when it plays its final non-conference game away from the Bay Area. The Broncos face Horizon League member Wright State at 10 a.m. (pacific) in the Ervin J. Nutter Center (capacity 11,019).
Santa Clara enters the game with a 1-5 record following a disappointing 88-41 loss at undefeated Ohio State on Wednesday. The Buckeyes improved to 6-0 on the season by limiting the Broncos to just 29 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from beyond the three-point arc in the game. Jason Morrissette and Jordan Legge led Santa Clara with nine points apiece, while Legge and David Emslie each grabbed a team-high five rebounds.
On the season, Santa Clara is led by senior forward Steve Ross and sophomore guard Kyle Bailey. The duo account for 23.1 of Santa Clara's 58.5 points per game. Freshman Legge has been a pleasant surprise, averaging 8.7 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds per game.
The Broncos opened the season with a narrow 85-83 loss to Pacific before suffering back-to-back losses to Cal and Washington from the Pacific-10 Conference. Following a 65-63 win over local rival San Jose State, the Broncos have dropped road contests at Nevada and Ohio State. According to collegerpi.com, Santa Clara has played the 33rd-toughest schedule in the country and the second most difficult among West Coast Conference schools.
Wright State is 5-3 overall following consecutive wins at High Point and against Oakland. The Raiders' three losses are all on the road -- at Cincinnati, Miami and Morehead State. WSU opened the season with a win at St. Francis (Pa.) and also posted wins over IP-Fort Wayne and Tennessee State.
The Raiders have four players who score in double figures, led by Jesse Deister's 15.9 points per game. Seth Doliboa (15.9), Cain Doliboa (14.1) and Vernard Hollins (12.3) are the other three leading scorers for WSU, while Seth Doliboa is the team's rebounding leader with 8.1 boards per game. Santa Clara and Wright State have never played men's basketball.
Following the Wright State contest, Santa Clara returns to the Bay Area to play in the annual Stanford Invitational on Dec. 18-19 at Maples Pavilion. The Broncos will face Portland State (3-4) in the first round at 4:30 p.m., while 13th-ranked Stanford (3-1) will play Belmont University (4-2) at 7 p.m. The consolation game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start on Wednesday with the championship following at 7 p.m. The two 7 p.m. games will be televised locally by KRON-TV.
Tickets remain available to the 35th annual Cable Car Classic. Scheduled for December 28-29, the 2001 event features a lineup of Santa Clara vs. UMBC in a 6 p.m. tipoff on Friday, while UC Santa Barbara will face Detroit in the second game at approximately 8 p.m. The consolation game is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Saturday with the championship game following afterward.
