Jan. 17, 2007

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Next Up for the Broncos
The Santa Clara Broncos hit the road for a Saturday, Jan. 20 game against the San Diego Toreros. The game tips off at 4:00 p.m. PT at Jenny Craig Pavilion. The game will be broadcast live on SantaClaraBroncos.com and can be seen on television on tape delay on Tuesday, Jan. 23 on Comcast SportsNet. San Diego has won three straight games in the series, including a 75-69 win last year in San Diego. With a win, SCU would equal its victory total from 2005-06 when the team won 13 games. Both teams are 12-6 going into the game.

Last Game for the Broncos
Santa Clara used a 20-4 run to open the second half to break a halftime tie and cruise to a 57-41 victory over the University of Portland on Jan. 15. John Bryant had his fourth double double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead SCU. Scott Dougherty scored 12 points while Mitch Henke added 10 in the win. Santa Clara has now beaten the Pilots four straight times. The Pilots were led by Jamie Jones, who scored 12 points in the losing effort.

Head Coach Dick Davey
In his 15th season as the head coach at Santa Clara, Dick Davey has compiled a career record of 242-186 (113-84 WCC), which includes three 20-win seasons. Davey has also posted a 138-61 record at home for a .693 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. To celebrate 100 seasons of basketball, the Broncos are hanging a number of former Bronco's jerseys in the rafters of the Leavey Center this year. Bob Feerick had his No. 5 put in rafters on Jan. 6, alongside Steve Nash's No. 11, which was hung on Sept. 18 at the Santa Clara Convocation. Joining Feerick and Nash this season will be Ken Sears (Jan. 27), Nick Vanos (Jan. 29), Dennis Awtrey (Feb. 5) and Bud Ogden (Feb. 5). Kurt Rambis is tentatively scheduled to have his jersey raised on Feb. 17.

SCU vs. San Diego
Series Record: SCU leads 32-26
First Meeting: USD 66-65 win on Dec. 19, 1963
2005-06 at USD: USD won 75-69
2005-06 at SCU: USD won 81-66
Record at SCU: SCU leads 20-11
Record at San Diego: USD leads 15-12
Record at Neutral Site: 0-0
Biggest SCU Win: 82-48 (34) on March 5, 2004
Biggest USD Win: 96-71 (25) on Jan. 6, 1990
Dick Davey vs. San Diego: 15-14
Notes: USD hosted the WCC Championships from 2001-2003 ... The two teams have split the last 20 meetings with 10 wins apiece and the last 10 with five wins each ... San Diego has won three straight games in the series ... Doron Perkins set a school record with 10 steals against the Toreros on Feb. 24, 2005 and, as a team, the Broncos registered 31 in the two games during that season (16 at home, 15 at USD) ... Dick Davey and USD's Brad Holland are the two longest-tenured coaches in the West Coast Conference.

Scouting San Diego
San Diego has gotten off to a good start this season with a 12-6 record overall and a 2-1 mark in the WCC. The Toreros upset California at Haas Pavilion earlier this year and are coming off wins against Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine. USD is also 7-0 at home this season. Gyno Pomare leads the team, averaging 15.8 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He was the co-WCC Player of the Week this week for his play last weekend against LMU and Pepperdine. Pomare is fifth in scoring in the WCC. Guard Ross DeRogatis is right behind Pomare in points per game at 15.4 and he is second in the conference with 52 3-pointers this season. Toreros head coach Brad Holland is in his 13th year at USD and has a 194-168 record at the school.

Last Game Versus San Diego
San Diego came to the Leavey Center and beat the Broncos 81-66 on Jan. 30, 2006 in the last meeting between USD and SCU. Four Toreros scored in double figures as the team shot 61 percent from the floor in the win. Mitch Henke led the Broncos with 15 points, while Brandon Rohe and Brody Angley each scored 13 in the loss. Joey Kaempf also hit three 3-pointers and totaled 11 points.

Last Win At San Diego
Santa Clara's last win on the road against San Diego came on Jan. 11, 2003 in the conference opener for both teams. As a freshman, Brandon Rohe scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half to lead SCU to a 67-65 win. Travis Niesen scored seven points off the bench in the game.

Conference Road Openers
Under Dick Davey Santa Clara is 6-8 in its first road game of the conference season. They lost last season in the road opener 75-69 to San Diego, but won their opening road game in 2005 against Saint Mary's 65-42.

13 Wins
Last season Santa Clara finished the season with 13 wins. The Broncos are now 12-6 in 2006-07 meaning that they can match last year's win total with a win against San Diego.

Bryant Double-Double
Sophomore John Bryant posted his fourth double-double of the season on Jan. 15 against Portland with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Bryant is tied for second in the league in double-doubles, one behind the league leaders, Gyno Pomare (San Diego) and Alan Wiggins (San Francisco).

Dougherty On Hot Streak
Senior Scott Dougherty did not score in double figures this season until Dec. 23 against Utah State when he scored a career-high 16 points off the bench. Following an ankle injury to Mitch Henke in that game that sidelined him for one game, Dougherty moved into the starting lineup and has continued his hot streak. He has scored in double figures in three straight games, including a career-high 18 against Gonzaga on Jan. 13. He also posted a career-high four assists against Portland on Jan. 15. The Portland, Ore. native is now averaging 6.3 points per game, a career high.

NCAA Leaders
Santa Clara is now among the nation's leaders in three statistical categories. The Broncos are 50th in scoring defense, allowing 62.5 points per game. They are ranked 40th in field goal percentage defense, holding teams to .401 from the field. The Broncos are also 35th in rebound margin at plus-5.9 per game.

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 51 wins behind former SCU head coach Carroll Williams, who won 165 WCC games from 1970-1992.

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. For the season, Denison and Bryant are the only two Broncos in double figures in scoring at 10.6 and 10.1 points respectively.

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.

Three-Pointers
The Broncos set a season high in three-point attempts on Jan. 13 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 vs. the Zags 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).

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 (62.5), rebounding margin (+5.9), assists (16.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.06). The Broncos are second in field goal percentage defense at .401 and offensive rebounds (12.9). Sean Denison is first in the conference in field goal percentage at .592, while John Bryant (.534) is sixth. Bryant is fifth in rebounding at 7.3 per game and third in blocks at 1.67 per game. Danny Pariseau and Brody Angley are second and fourth in assists at 4.67 and 3.94 respectively. Pariseau is first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.33.

Rebounding
The Broncos narrowly won the battle of the boards against Portland on Monday and have now outrebounded opponents in 13 out of 18 games, while owning a plus-5.9 rebounding margin. The Broncos have grabbed more than 40 rebounds eight times this season and have outrebounded their foes 670-563.

Defense Steps Up Again
Santa Clara held Portland to 41 points on Jan. 15 and only 14 points in the second half. That point total is the second lowest this year for an opponent. The Broncos 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 .401 against Santa Clara and scoring 62.5 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 nine out of 12 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 six 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.

Pariseau's Big Month
Bronco senior Danny Pariseau has been having a dream season so far for SCU and December was his breakout month. After scoring 11 points against Gonzaga on Jan. 13, he has now scored in double figures 10 times this season. From December 9-23, Pariseau set or tied career highs in points, rebounds, assists and steals. On Dec. 9, he scored a career-high 20 points at Pacific, before dishing out a career-high nine assists on Dec. 11 versus Eastern Washington. On Dec. 16 against Stanford, Pariseau led SCU with nine rebounds, setting another career high. Pariseau also scored 16 points, had four assists and made three steals to lead the team in four categories overall against Stanford. Pariseau finished the four-game stretch with 14 points on the road against Kentucky. He also made four steals against the Wildcats to tie his career high.

Rankings
After splitting two games against Gonzaga and Portland, Santa Clara dropped to 20th in Collegeinsider.com's mid-major top-25, which is based on voting by coaches around the country. SCU is currently 79th in RPI in the Pomeroy Ratings.

Angley Aims For Top 10
Junior point guard Brody Angley has 71 assists on the season, giving him 294 career assists and leaving him less than 20 assists away from cracking the Broncos all-time top 10 in that category. He needs 15 assists to pass Chris Lane (1984-88) and move into 10th all time.