Dec. 27, 2001

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team will return to action Friday when it hosts the 35th annual Cable Car Classic Friday and Saturday at the Leavey Center (capacity 5,000).

The Broncos will face Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in the first game at 6 p.m., while UC Santa Barbara will play Detroit in the second game at approximately 8 p.m. The consolation and championship games are scheduled for 6 and 8 p.m. Saturday.

Tournament and single session tickets remain available for the Cable Car Classic by calling the athletic ticket office at 408/554-4660 or by clicking here.

The classic will also showcase the opening of the newly-renovated East side of the Leavey Center. Begun last April, the East side features a number of new seating areas on the floor as well as upstairs, including an entirely new upper chairback section.

Santa Clara enters the Cable Car Classic with a 2-8 record following last weekend's 92-67 win over Chico State. Senior Steve Ross led four Broncos in double figures with 19 points, while sophomore Kyle Bailey added 13, senior Justin Holbrook added 12 and freshman Jordan Legge added 11. Senior forward Jason Westphal led Santa Clara in rebounding with a career-high eight to go with his eight-point effort.

UMBC enters the event with a 5-4 mark follwing a 77-67 Northeast Conference win over Towson on Saturday. The Retrievers have three scorers in double figures on the season with Peter Mulligan ledaing the way with a 17.6 average to go with his team-leading 7.3 rebounds per game. Friday's game will be the first-ever meeting between Santa Clara and UMBC.

Detroit is 6-4 on the year after beginning the season winning four of its first five games. The Titans opened the season with an 80-70 loss at Michigan State and also has defeats at the hands of Maryland and Bowling Green this season. Detroit, which averages 72.4 points per contest, is led by Willie Green's 16.4 points per game. This year's Cable Car Classic will be Detroit's second appearance in the event. The Titans dropped a seven-point decision to San Jose State in the championship game of the 1996 Classic.

Former West Coast Conference rival UC Santa Barbara enters the Cable Car Classic with the field's best overall record at 7-2. The Gauchos have wins over WCC foes San Francisco, Pepperdine and Saint Mary's and a loss at Loyola Marymount. Junior Mark Hull was named the Big West Player of the Week following UCSB's conference wins last week over UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton.

For complete information on all the teams in the 2001 Cable Car Classic, click here.