Jan. 15, 2007

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Next Up for the Broncos
The Santa Clara Broncos look for their second conference win of the year as they take on the Portland Pilots at 7:00 p.m. PT at the Leavey Center Monday night. The game will be broadcast live on 1220 KNTS on the radio and SantaClaraBroncos.com will have live audio and video along with GameTracker. Santa Clara beat Portland three times last season, twice in conference play and once in the WCC Tournament. The Pilots lost Saturday night against Saint Mary's and are 2-1 in conference play this year.

Last Game for the Broncos
Santa Clara could not come all the way back from a 14-point second half deficit and fell 77-69 to the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the Leavey Center on Jan. 13. Santa Clara pulled to within three in the final minute but the Zags hit six free throws down the stretch to clinch the win. Scott Dougherty led Santa Clara with 18 points while Sean Denison and Danny Pariseau both chipped in with 11 points. Derek Raivio of Gonzaga led all scorers with 25 points in the win.

Head Coach Dick Dave
In his 15th season as the head coach at Santa Clara, Dick Davey has compiled a career record of 241-186 (113-84 WCC), which includes three 20-win seasons. Davey has also posted a 137-61 record at home for a .692 winning percentage. He owns the most WCC wins among active coaches and is the first Bronco coach to lead Santa Clara to four 10-plus win seasons in WCC play. A three-time conference Coach of the Year, Davey has coached Santa Clara to three regular season league titles, one WCC Tournament title, three NCAA Tournament appearances and five wins over top-25 teams. Davey served as a Bronco assistant for 15 seasons (1977-92) under former head coach and athletic director Carroll Williams and is a member of the prestigious Board of Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches.

Bronco's 100th Season
2006-07 marks the 100th season of men's basketball at Santa Clara. The basketball team at Santa Clara first started in 1905 and became a varsity sport in 1917-18. In their 99 seasons, SCU has had seven All-Americans, 15 postseason appearances (11 NCAA, 4 NIT), three WCC Coaches of the Year, and one visit to the Final Four (1951-52). In 2006-07, the Broncos again face some of the top competition in the country as they attempt to earn their 16th postseason appearance.

SCU vs. Portland
Series Record: Santa Clara leads 50-22
First Meeting: SCU 56-37 win on Dec. 27, 1946
2005-06 at SCU: SCU won 87-77
2005-06 at Portland: SCU won 80-56
Record at SCU: SCU leads 30-6
Record at Portland: SCU leads 19-15
Record at Neutral Site: Series tied 1-1
Biggest SCU Win: 103-59 (44) on Jan. 14, 1978
Biggest Portland Win: 72-47 (25) on Jan. 30, 2003
Dick Davey vs. Portland: 19-5
Notes: Santa Clara has won 17 of the last 20 meetings and six of the last seven ... The longest SCU win streak in the series was 10 from 1998-2002 ... SCU is 6-1 against Portland in the Leavey Center (renovated in 2001) ... SCU has two players from Portland, both are Jesuit High grads: Scott Dougherty and Joey Kaempf ... Portland is the only team that the Broncos swept in WCC regular season play last year ... In last season's game at the Leavey Center, the Broncos made a season-high 35 free throws on a season-high 41 attempts ... Brody Angley scored in double figures in all three games against Portland last year and averaged 15.7 points per game against the Pilots ... John Bryant had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds against Portland at the Leavey Center on Jan. 7, 2006 ... SCU assistant coach Sam Scuilli spent two seasons as an assistant at Portland St. in 1999-00 ... Most points scored by a Bronco against the Pilots was 38 by Mark McNamara in 1979.

Scouting Portland
The Pilots got off to a slow start this season under first year head coach Eric Reveno posting a 2-11 record through 13 games. However, Portland has bounced back recently winning four of its past six games including its first two conference games of the season against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. The Pilots lost 73-57 to Saint Mary's on Saturday. Darren Cooper leads the team in scoring at 13.2 points per game. Reveno was previously an assistant at Stanford.

Last Game Versus Portland
Santa Clara knocked off Portland 72-68 in the first round of the WCC Tournament in Spokane, Wash. on March 3, 2006. Four Broncos scored in double figures, led by Travis Niesen's 19 and Brody Angley's 17, to earn the win. SCU trailed by one at halftime, but took control of the game in the second half to earn the four-point win.

Moving to No. 2
Santa Clara head coach Dick Davey moved into second all-time in wins in West Coast Conference history following the Broncos victory over Saint Mary's on Jan. 6. He moved past former Gonzaga head coach Dan Fitzgerald, who has 112 wins. Davey is now 52 wins behind former SCU head coach Carroll Williams, who won 165 WCC games from 1970-1992.

Saturday Night Festivities
Saturday night was a memorable night at the Leavey Center as Santa Clara hung legendary Bronco player and coach Bob Feerick's No. 5 in the rafters. Feerick died in 1976, but his wife, Eleanor, along with his sons, Bob Jr., Chuck and Rick, his nephew, Bruce, and former Warriors owner Frank Mieuli and former Warriors player and coach Al Attles were on hand for the event. Feerick's No. 5 jersey joines Steve Nash's No. 11, which was hung in September. Feerick '41 was an All-American player and a legendary coach at Santa Clara before going on to play and coach in the NBA. Feerick led the Broncos to their only Final Four appearance in 1952 as a coach and as a player he was a member of Santa Clara's "Magicians of the Maplewood", who went 17-3 in 1939-40.

Denison Hits 11 Straight
Santa Clara senior power forward Sean Denison went 8-for-8 from the field against Saint Mary's on Jan. 6 and scored 20 points. He then hit his first three shots of the game against Gonzaga on Jan. 13 to run his field goal streak to 11 in a row. He then missed his next shot against the Zags, but still finished with 11 points. Denison continues to lead the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game in his final season at SCU.

Dougherty Sets Career High
Senior Scott Dougherty had a career night against Gonzaga on Saturday night. He shot 6-for-14 from the floor to score a career-high 18 points in the game. His three-pointer in the final minute brought Santa Clara within three points. The Portland, Ore. native is now averaging 6.0 points per game, a career high.

Dominating Big Men
Santa Clara got a dominating performance from their three big men on Jan. 6 against Saint Mary's. John Bryant, Sean Denison and Josh Higgins, all 6-10 or taller, combined to score 40 points and grab 24 rebounds against the Gaels. Denison had 20 points and nine rebounds, while fellow starter John Bryant had 16 points and nine rebounds. Off the bench, Higgins scored four points, but grabbed six rebounds in only 12 minutes of action.

Three-Pointers
The Broncos set a season high in three-point attempts on Saturday against Gonzaga. SCU hoisted 29 threes and made eight of them. Their previous high was 24 attempts against Kentucky on Dec. 19. The eight 3-pointers made ties for second most this season.

Non-Conference Wins
The Broncos won their 10th non-conference game of the year against Colgate on Dec. 28, setting a new team record for non-league wins during head coach Dick Davey's tenure. Under Davey, the team record for non-conference wins was nine, set five times (1994-95, 1995-6, 1997-98, 1999-00 and 2002-03).

Injuries
Junior forward Mitch Henke showed that he is nearly fully recovered from his right ankle sprain after playing 24 minutes against Gonzaga on Saturday. He played only 18 combined minutes in the previous two games. Senior Brandon Rohe did not play against Gonzaga and is still listed as probable with a back injury. Rohe has battled back problems since his sophomore year at SCU.

WCC Leaders
Individually and as a team, Santa Clara currently ranks among the best in the West Coast Conference in a number of statistical categories. As a team, SCU is first scoring defense (63.8), rebounding margin (+6.2), assists (15.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.02). The Broncos are second in field goal percentage defense at .404 and offensive rebounds (13.2). Sean Denison is first in the conference in field goal percentage at .587, while John Bryant (.537) is five. Bryant is tied for sixth in rebounding at 7.1 per game and third in blocks at 1.65 per game. Danny Pariseau and Brody Angley are second and fourth in assists at 4.5 and 4.0 respectively. Pariseau is first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.20.

Rebounding
The Broncos started conference play with another win in the battle of the boards as they outrebounded Saint Mary's 40-34, but were outrebounded 35-32 against Gonzaga on Saturday. SCU has now outrebounded opponents in 12 out of 17 games, while owning a plus-6.2 rebounding margin. The Broncos have grabbed more than 40 rebounds eight times this season and have outrebounded their foes 638-532 on the year.

Defense Steps Up Again
Santa Clara held Colgate to a season-low 39 points on Dec. 28. The last time that Santa Clara held an opponent to under 40 points was Dec. 27, 1988 in a 54-39 win over Fresno State. Dec. 28 was the first time that a Dick Davey-led team held an opponent under 40. For the season, opponents are now shooting only .404 against Santa Clara and scoring 63.8 points per game.

Home Cooking
Santa Clara has gotten off to good starts at the Leavey Center the past few years. Last year, the Broncos started out with four straight wins at home and in 2004-05 they won their first five at home. Three years ago, the team won five out of six at home to start the year. This season has been no different as SCU has won eight out of 11 so far at the Leavey Center. The Broncos had their five-game home winning streak snapped against Air Force on Dec. 29.

Tight Games
After playing only two games decided by 10 points or less in their first 12 games, Santa Clara has had three of their past five games decided by eight points or less. SCU defeated Utah State in overtime and knocked off Saint Mary's by seven points prior to their eight-point loss to Gonzaga.

Angley Aims For Top 10
Junior point guard Brody Angley has 68 assists on the season, giving him 291 career assists and leaving him less than 20 assists away from cracking the Broncos all-time top 10 in that category. He needs 18 assists to pass Chris Lane (1984-88) and move into 10th all time.