Feb. 3, 2004
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team is hoping history doesn't repeat itself this week when it plays two games against the University of San Diego.
The two teams are travel partners in the West Coast Conference and play Thursday at Santa Clara then again on Saturday in San Diego. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. tipoffs and will be broadcast live in the Bay Area on KSFB-AM (1220) and worldwide via the Internet at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com.
In each of the past three seasons, neither team has been able to hold service on its home court. The Broncos own a 3-0 record over San Diego in the Jenny Craig Pavilion, while the Toreros are a perfect 3-0 at the Leavey Center.
Santa Clara enters the second half of league play Thursday with a 12-10 overall record and a 4-3 mark in WCC games. The Broncos are tied with Pepperdine and San Francisco for second-place in the conference. The top two finishers in league play are provided two byes in the conference tournament, while the nos. three and four teams earn a single bye. The four-through-eight seeds will play on the tournament's opening day and would have to win four games in four days to advance to the NCAA Tournament.
The Broncos own a 4-1 mark at home in league play with their only blemish being a 79-63 loss to 10th-ranked Gonzaga last weekend. Santa Clara has defeated San Francisco, Pepperdine, Loyola Marymount and Portland at home and only have the Toreros and Saint Mary's remaining on the schedule.
Junior transfer Doron Perkins leads the Broncos in scoring with an average of 12.3 points per game. The league leader in steals with an average of 2.14 per game, Perkins is also the team leader in free throw attempts. The Anchorage, Alaska native averages six attempts per game and is shooting .738 from the charity stripe.
San Diego, which won the WCC Tournament last season and advanced to the NCAA championships as the league's representative, is 3-18 on the season and a winless 0-6 in league play heading into Thursday's game. The Toreros are led by Brice Vounang's 16.6 points per game and 19.8 per game average in league contests.
The Toreros are scoring at a 67.4 points per game clip on the season, but has increased that average to 71.2 in conference contests. They are shooting .500 from the field and .457 from the three-point line in WCC games.
Following this week's two games against USD, Santa Clara plays at Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine next week.