Feb. 11, 2007

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Next Up for the Broncos
The Santa Clara Broncos take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Monday, Feb. 12 with first place on the line in the West Coast Conference. The game tips off at 9:00 p.m. PT and will be broadcast live on ESPN2 and 1220 KNTS. SCU and Gonzaga are both 8-2 in the conference. The Zags have a 50-game home unbeaten streak and own a 13-game winning streak against Santa Clara. SCU enters the game with a four-game winning streak, its longest win streak of the season.

Last Game for the Broncos
Santa Clara pulled away from the Portland Pilots in the second half to earn a 76-53 win on Feb. 10 at the Chiles Center. John Bryant scored 15 points for the Broncos, while Danny Pariseau scored 14 points and had five assists in the win. Brody Angley added 11 to score in double figures for his fifth consecutive game. The Broncos swept the season series from the Pilots with the victory. As a team, SCU shot 55 percent from the floor and 53 percent on 3-pointers.

Head Coach Dick Davey
In his 15th season as the head coach at Santa Clara, Dick Davey has compiled a career record of 248-187 (120-85 WCC), which includes three 20-win seasons. Davey has also posted a 140-62 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 were Ken Sears (Jan. 27), Nick Vanos (Jan. 29), Dennis Awtrey (Feb. 5) and Bud Ogden (Feb. 5). Kurt Rambis' No. 34 will be raised in a future season as his duties as assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers did not allow him time to come back this year.

SCU vs. Gonzaga
Series Record: GU leads 35-29
First Meeting: SCU 44-32 win on Jan. 2, 1947
2005-06 at SCU: GU won 81-68
2005-06 at GU: GU won 85-71
Record at SCU: SCU leads 21-11
Record at Gonzaga: GU leads 21-7
Record at Neutral Site: GU leads 3-1
Biggest SCU Win: 86-62 (24) on Dec. 23, 1968
Biggest Gonzaga Win: 96-62 (34) on Feb. 1, 2003
Dick Davey vs. Gonzaga: 10-21
Notes: The last two times Gonzaga has knocked SCU out of the WCC Tournament were by a combined total of four points (3 in 2001 & 1 in 2004) ... Gonzaga has an active streak of 13-straight wins over the Broncos and has won nine-straight at home ... SCU senior transfer Danny Pariseau is a Spokane, Wash. native and 2002 grad of Shadle Park High School ... Former SCU coach and athletic director Carroll Williams is widely known as the "godfather" of the modern "flex" offense. Williams' assistant coach Dan Fitzgerald took it to Spokane as the head coach of Gonzaga in 1986-87 and it has been a big part of the Bulldogs' offensive scheme since ... SCU's last win over Gonzaga, 84-71 on Feb. 22, 2001 at the Leavey Center, ended the Bulldogs' 14-game winning streak, which was the nation's longest at the time.

Scouting Gonzaga
Gonzaga is having another stellar season that includes wins over North Carolina and Texas. The team is 18-8 overall (8-2 WCC) and has played one of the toughest schedules in the country. Derek Raivio leads the team and the conference in scoring at 18.1 points per game. Jeremy Pargo averages 12.3 ppg. Second leading scorer Josh Heytvelt is currently suspended from the team. Head coach Mark Few is in his eighth year at Gonzaga as head coach and has posted a 206-49 record.

Last Game Versus Gonzaga
Santa Clara cut a big deficit to just three points with 30 seconds remaining, but the Broncos could not come all the way back in a 77-69 loss to Gonzaga on Jan. 13 at the Leavey Center. Derek Raivio scored 25 points for the Zags in the win. Scott Dougherty hit four 3-pointers and scored 18 points, while Sean Denison and Danny Pariseau each scored 11 for SCU. Gonzaga led by two points at halftime.

Bryant Breaks Out
After battling bronchitis for two weeks, a healthy John Bryant broke out against Portland on Feb. 10, scoring 15 points to lead SCU. The 6-10 center hit 7-10 free throws to set career highs in free throw makes and attempts in a game. For the season, Bryant is now averaging 9.8 points per game.

Denison
Senior Sean Denison had a great weekend against Saint Mary's and San Francisco from Feb. 3-5 to earn WCC Co-Player of the Week honors. He scored 12 points against Saint Mary's on Feb. 3 and then poured in 18 points and grabbed a career high 16 rebounds on Feb. 5 vs. USF. That double-double against the Dons was his fourth of the season, tying him with John Bryant for first on the team in that category. While he did not score a lot of points against Portland on Feb. 10, Denison made a big contribution to the win. After Portland took a lead late in the first half 26-25, Denison hit a jumper to give Santa Clara a lead that it would not relinquish. The Nelson, B.C. native also dished out a career high six assists against Portland.

4-0 On The Road In Conference
Santa Clara is now 4-0 in road conference games after beating Portland 76-53 on Feb. 10. The Broncos last started 4-0 on the road in conference in the 1984-85 season. They started that year 5-0 and finished 5-1 in road conference games.

Putting The Clamps On
Santa Clara shut down the Portland attack on Feb. 10 in its 76-53 win. The Broncos held the Pilots to 53 points and just .298 shooting from the floor. SCU only allowed them to shoot 24 percent on 3-pointers.

In The Paint
The Broncos dominated the inside on Feb. 10 against Portland. SCU outscored the Pilots 30-12 in the paint, led by John Bryant's 15 points.

Quick Out Of The Locker Room
The Broncos led 36-28 at halftime against Portland on Feb. 10, but opened the second half with a 13-2 run to open up a 19-point lead. The Broncos eventually led by as many as 28 points before winning 76-53. SCU has made a name for itself with big second halves this season. See notes "Big Second Halves" and "More Big Second Halves" below for more info on this trend.

Three Sweeps
Santa Clara swept the season series from Portland by beating the Pilots 76-53 on Feb. 10. SCU has now swept three WCC teams this season, marking the first time since 2000-01 that the Broncos have swept three conference foes in a season. In both years, SCU swept Portland, USF and Saint Mary's. In 2000-01, the Broncos also swept Loyola Marymount. The Broncos have two more chances to sweep teams this season, Feb. 17 against San Diego and Feb. 26 against Pepperdine.

Best Start Since 1995-96
The Broncos are off to their best start (18-7) since the 1995-96 season when the team posted an 18-7 record through 25 games.

15 Wins In January
By defeating the Pepperdine Waves on Jan. 29, SCU won its 15th game of the year. This season marks the first time since 1983 that the Broncos had 15 wins at the end of the month of January.

Davey To Retire
Head men's basketball coach Dick Davey announced on Feb. 1 that he is retiring as head coach at the end of the season. Davey has been at Santa Clara since 1977, spending 15 years as an assistant before becoming head coach in 1992. He is the second winningest coach in SCU history (248) and is second all-time in career WCC wins (120).

Conference Start
Santa Clara is now 8-2 in conference play this season, surpassing last season's five conference wins. Also, the 8-2 start is the best start by the Broncos since opening WCC play 9-1 in 1994-95. The Broncos have not had eight conference wins since 2001-02 when they finished the season 8-6 in the WCC.

Dougherty Leading Team
Small forward Scott Dougherty continues to impress in the starting role. He is leading the team in scoring in conference games at 13.3 points per game. On Feb. 3 at Saint Mary's, he turned in a career performance in scoring. He scored a career high 23 points to lead SCU to a 63-57 win in Moraga. He has started every game of the conference season. He has also set career highs in points against Utah State (16), Gonzaga (18) and San Francisco (19). Against Pepperdine on Jan. 29, he led the team with 14 points two days after he shot 4-for-6 from the field and had 13 points, while grabbing seven rebounds against Loyola Marymount. Against San Francisco on Jan. 22, he had three points at halftime, but then exploded in the second half with 16 points, including 11 during a decisive 14-4 run, and finished with a career high 19 points. He also hit two free throws in the closing seconds to clinch the game. Dougherty started his first game of the year on Dec. 28 against Colgate.

Sweep
Santa Clara swept the season series against Saint Mary's by winning 63-57 on Feb. 3. SCU has now swept six out of the past eight season series against the Gaels. The Broncos then beat San Francisco on Feb. 5 to sweep that series for the first time since the 2000-01 season. It is also the first time since 2000-01 that SCU has swept both Saint Mary's and USF in the same season. Overall, the Broncos finished 7-1 against the Bay Area colleges, California, Stanford, Saint Mary's, San Francisco, San Jose State and Pacific. The only loss came against Cal on Nov. 20.

Pariseau Breaks Out
Senior guard Danny Pariseau exploded for SCU against the San Francisco Dons on Feb. 5. In the first half, he hit three 3-pointers to help SCU build a 15-point halftime cushion. Then late in the game, he knocked down two big threes to put the game away. His first gave the Broncos a six-point lead with 1:45 to play and his second made it a seven-point game with 56 seconds left. He scored eight points in the final 1:45 of the game to finish with 19 overall.

Angley Coming On
After going four games without scoring in double figures, Bronco point guard Brody Angley has turned around his game. He has now had five straight games scoring in double figures, including 11 points on 5-for-6 shooting against Portland on Feb. 10.

Conference Only Stats
In conference games, Scott Dougherty leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game, while making 28 3-pointers in those 10 conference games. Sean Denison is shooting an amazing 69 percent from the field in conference and he is also second in rebounds at 8.0 per game. Danny Pariseau's assists are at 5.3 a game in conference, good for second in conference games. The team has held opponents to 59.3 points per game on .377 percent shooting in the conference.

Six In Double Figures
Santa Clara beat Pepperdine with a complete team effort on Jan. 29 as six Broncos scored in double figures. Scott Dougherty led the way with 14 points, but he was joined in double figures by Brody Angley (12), Joey Kaempf (11), John Bryant (10), Sean Denison (10) and Danny Pariseau. It was the first time since Feb. 25, 2006 against Loyola Marymount that the Broncos had more than five players in double figures. The last time SCU had six players in double figures was Nov. 25, 2002 against UC Santa Cruz at the Leavey Center.

Angley In Top 10
Junior point guard Brody Angley has 92 assists on the season, giving him 315 career assists. He is now in ninth all-time at SCU after passing Chris Lane (1984-88) and Mitch Burley (1985-89).

NCAA Leaders
Through Feb. 8, 2007, Santa Clara was among the nation's leaders in three statistical categories. The Broncos were 39th in scoring defense, allowing 61.6 points per game (now 61.2). The team was 26th in field goal percentage defense at .397 (now .394). The Broncos were also 30th in rebound margin at plus-6.0 (now 5.7) per game.

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 (61.2), field goal percentage defense (.394), rebounding margin (+5.7), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.01) and assists (15.32). The Broncos are second in field goal percentage (.462). Sean Denison is first in the conference in field goal percentage at .607, while John Bryant (.528) is sixth. Bryant is seventh in rebounding at 7.0 per game and fifth in blocks at 1.48 per game. Danny Pariseau and Brody Angley are second and fourth in assists at 4.72 and 3.68 respectively. Pariseau is first in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.31.

Rebounding
Santa Clara lost the rebounding battle 31-30 against Portland, but the team still owns a plus-5.7 rebounding margin for the year. The team has now outrebounded opponents in 17 out of 25 games.The Broncos have grabbed more than 40 rebounds nine times this season and have outrebounded their foes 910-768.

Suffocating Defense
Santa Clara has allowed only two of their past eight opponents to break 60 points against them. Loyola Marymount scored 74 and shot 61 percent against SCU and USF scored 62 on Feb. 5, but six other opponents were held below 60 points. On Jan. 29 against Pepperdine, Santa Clara forced the Waves to shoot just 32 percent from the floor and 27 percent from 3-point land. Against USF on Jan. 22, the Broncos forced 18 turnovers and limited the Dons to 32 percent shooting in the second half. The Dons scored only 58 points in the game. Prior to that game, the Broncos held Portland to 41 points on Jan. 15 and limited San Diego to 47 points on Jan. 20. In both games, SCU had outstanding second half efforts, holding Portland to 14 points and San Diego to 16 points. USD shot 2-for-22 from the field in the second half (nine percent). The 41 points by Portland was the second lowest total 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.