Dec. 11, 2003
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara University men's basketball team will be looking to extend its five-game win streak Saturday when it entertains the Tigers from the University of the Pacific in a 7 p.m. tipoff at the Leavey Center.
Tickets are available by calling the Santa Clara University Athletic Ticket Office at 408/554-4660. The game will be broadcast live in the Bay Area on KSFB-AM (1220) and worldwide via the Internet at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. In addition, a live Internet GameTracker will provide up-to-the-second coverage from Santa Clara's official athletic website.
The game has been designated as Future Broncos Night and youths under the age of 15 wearing a basketball jersey can purchase a ticket for just $2. And, as always, Bronco Kidz can purchase a ticket to the game for $2 by showing their membership card. Bronco Kidz memberships are available for purchase for just $15 for the season by clicking here.
The Broncos are 5-2 on the season and have won each of its last five games after dropping back-to-back heartbreakers to open the season at the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. Pacific enters Saturday's game with a 3-3 overall mark after losing 66-51 to Fresno State at home on Wednesday.
Santa Clara opened the season with a loss to Hawai'i then dropped an overtime decision to Villanova in the event's second round. Since that loss, the Broncos have outscored their last five opponents by an average of 13.4 points per game and have enjoyed a whopping 11.4 per game advantage on the boards.
Junior transfer Doron Perkins is Santa Clara's leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points per game. The Anchorage, Alaska native is also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game after transferring to the Mission Campus from Southwestern Oregon CC.
Kyle Bailey is second on the team, scoring 9.9 points per game and is the squad's assist leader with an average of 4.0 per outing. In SCU's 74-56 win last weekend at Montana State, sophomore forward Travis Niesen poured in a career-high 17 points to raise his season average to 9.1 points per game. The Mission Viejo, Calif. native is also shooting 50 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line.
Pacific enters Saturday's game having won two of its last three contests after beginning the season with a 1-2 mark. The Tigers opened the season with a 76-65 overtime sin at home against San Jose State then dropped back-to-back games against Duke and Canisius at the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, Alaska. The squad rebounded with wins over Texas State and Nevada before Wednesday's loss to Fresno State.
Last season, Santa Clara opened the season with a 78-72 win at Pacific with four Broncos scoring in double figures. Bailey led Santa Clara with 16 points, including four-straight free throws in the closing seconds to secure the victory.
Santa Clara leads the all-time series between the two schools by an 83-37 margin dating back to the first meeting in 1904. Recently, the series has been closer with each team winning four of the last eight meetings.
Santa Clara head coach Dick Davey is 4-4 against his alma mater. He is a 1964 graduate of the school and earned varsity letters in baseball and basketball.