March 7, 2003
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Frederic Adjiwanou scored a career-high 25 points and tied his career high with 11 rebounds, leading Saint Mary's of California to a 65-51 win over Santa Clara Friday night in a first-round West Coast Conference tournament game.
Adjiwanou, making his fourth start of the season, scored 14 points in the first half as the Gaels took a 32-25 halftime lead after falling behind 8-0 in the game's first three minutes.
No. 5 seed Saint Mary's (14-14) will play fourth-seeded Pepperdine in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
Santa Clara (13-15), which finished off its second worst season in coach Dick Davey's 11 years, was eliminated by the Gaels for the second straight year in the first round of the WCC tournament.
Adjiwanou presented problems inside for the eighth-seeded Broncos, who fouled the 6-foot-9 forward often. Adjiwanou hit 14-of-16 free throws and added three blocked shots.
The Gaels, who shot just 41.7 percent from the field, made up for it with a huge advantage at the free throw line. Saint Mary's made 21-of-26 free throws compared to 7-for-9 for Santa Clara.
Jordan Legge and Brandon Rohe each scored 13 points to lead the Broncos, who shot just 35.1 percent from the floor.