Men Return Home to Host Cal State Northridge Dec. 3, Travel to Washington St. Dec. 11

Men Return Home to Host Cal State Northridge Dec. 3, Travel to Washington St. Dec. 11

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GOOD SEATS REMAIN FOR THE CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE GAME!

Santa Clara (4-2) returns home from a successful 76 Classic to host Cal State Northridge  (1-5) on Sat., Dec. 3 at 7 pm in the Leavey Center.  The Broncos are 2-0 vs. the Matadors, winning 99-79 on Dec. 22, 2010 in Northridge and 83-70 on Dec. 10, 1979 in Santa Clara. After the Northridge game, the Broncos will take a week off for finals before traveling to Pullman, Wash., to play Washington State on Sun., Dec. 11 at 1 pm.  

Good seats remain for the Cal-State Northridge game. Click here to buy tickets now!

Despite the Roadrunner's 23 turnovers, CSU Bakersfield topped Cal State Northridge 74-67 in Northridge on Wed., Nov. 30.  Four players scored in double figures for the Matadors, including a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds from Stephen Maxwell off the bench.  It was Maxwell's first game as he missed the first five on the schedule this season due to a health issue.

In its last game, Santa Clara went on a 10-0 run in the final three minutes vs. Villanova to stun the Big East Conference team with a 65-64 win to finish in third place of the 76 Classic on Sun., Nov. 27.  Evan Roquemore made four clutch free throws in the final 7.5 seconds to help seal the victory.  Roquemore was named to the 76 Classic All-Tournament team and set the Classic record with 24 assists in three games.  For his efforts over Thanksgiving weekend, he was also named the WCC Player of the Week on Nov. 28Nationally, Roquemore and Creighton's Doug McDermott shared the Lou Henson Award Player of the Week honors and Roquemore was also named the Jesuit Men's Players of the Week Co-Player of the Week with Georgetown's Jason Clark.

Santa Clara advanced to the 76 Classic winner's bracket with a 79-76 overtime win over New Mexico on Nov. 24.  Roquemore and Kevin Foster both posted 26 points and Niyi Harrison scored a career-high 19.  While the Broncos were 26 of 34 from the line, the Lobos were 31 of 33.

In its second game Santa Clara was down 25 points early in the second half before it went on a scoring show to pull within six with 45 seconds left.  Oklahoma ended up topping the Broncos 85-73 on Nov 25.  Roquemore collected his first career double-double (27 points, 10 assists) and Foster broke Steve Nash's career three-pointers made record by scoring three threes as part of his 19 points.  Roquemore was the first Bronco since Nash to post 25+ points and 10+ assists.  The last time it was done in a Bronco uniform?  Nash scored 28 points and 12 assists in Santa Clara's 91-79 NCAA Tournament First Round win over Maryland on March 15, 1996.  Nash was 17 of 18 from the free throw line in that game.

With three starters averaging double figures, Santa Clara had two blow-out wins on its home court (vs. UC Merced and San Jose State) and an 89-58 loss at UC Santa Barbara, an NCAA Tournament team the past two years prior to traveling to Anaheim.  With the loss of All-WCC forward Marc Trasolini (torn ACL), Santa Clara might be the youngest team in the country with its 11 scholarship players this season totalling eight years of total court time (no seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and five freshmen).  While the Broncos start three juniors and two sophomores, the next six players off the bench, including walk-on Jordan Akwenuke, are all freshmen. In addition to leadership, the Broncos are without their top three rebounders from last season (Trasolini and graduation of Ben Dowdell and Troy Payne).

Looking at the WCC statistics from Mon.., Nov. 28, Roquemore and Foster are tied for the WCC-lead with 17.0 ppg (Robert Sacre of Gonzaga is also averaging 17 ppg). Foster is No. 12 in the country in threes made and Roquemore is No. 19.  Roquemore leads the WCC with 6.33 apg and is shooting 96.0 percent from the free throw line, hitting 24 of 25 attempts this season, also tops in the WCC. He is No. 9 in the country in free throw percentage and 19 in the country in apg.  Santa Clara leads the WCC in free throw percentage (.748) and three pointers made with 10.5.

SCU finished last season 24-14 and won the CIT post-season tournament with All-WCC First Team guard Kevin Foster collecting MVP honors.  Foster was named to the 2011 pre-season All-WCC team this season for the third time in his career after leading the country in threes (140) and the league in scoring (20.2 ppg) in 2010-11.

See and Hear 

The Santa Clara - Cal State Northridge game will also be broadcast via the Bronco Radio Network on both KDOW 1220 AM and Broncos All-Access at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com with the broadcast beginning at 6:45 p.m. Anthony Passarelli is in his fifth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer. Out of the listening area, KDOW is streamed online at www.1220kdow.com.  Fans can follow the game with enhanced live stats by clicking here.  Click here for video.

 

Fast Firsts

* Evan Roquemore and Kevin Foster averaged 22.0 ppg and 17.8 ppg, respectively in the 76 Classic. 

* Roquemore collected his first career double-double with 27 points and 10 assists vs. Oklahoma. He hit a career-high seven threes and was a perfect six of six from the free throw line. It was the 16th time in his career he has been perfect from the free throw line in a game.  It was the first time a Santa Clara guard has collected a double-double (points/assists) since Brody Angley had 24 points and 13 assists in SCU's 101-86 win vs. Pepperdine on Jan. 21, 2008.  Roquemore is the first Bronco to score 25+ points and 10+ assists since Steve Nash collected 28 points and 12 assists in Santa Clara's 91-79 victory over Maryland in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 15, 1996.  

* Foster broke Steve Nash's career three pointers made record with three threes vs. Oklahoma. Foster now has 268 threes in his career and is also No. 6 on the WCC list and No. 1 in the Bay Area.

* Niyi Harrison had a career high 19 points, playing a career-high 44 minutes vs. New Mexico

* Foster and Roquemore had 26 points a piece in the New Mexico win. Roquemore was a perfect 8 of 8 from the line. 

* John McArthur collected his first career double-double vs. San Jose State with a career-best19 points (11 of 11 from the free throw line) and 10 rebounds.

* Harrison scored a career-high 18 points vs. San Jose State.

* Santa Clara made 14 threes vs. UC Merced. Led by Foster's five, Roquemore and Brandon Clark both chipped in four each.

 

Roquemore Named WCC Player of the Week

After being selected to the 76 Classic Five-Man All-Tournament team and leading the West Coast Conference in points and assists per game and free throw percentage, Santa Clara guard Evan Roquemore was named the WCC Player of the Week on Nov. 28.  Nationally he was also named the Lou Henson Award Co-Player of the Week and the Jesuit Men's Basketball Co-Player of the Week. 

For the tournament, the sophomore averaged 22.7 points and 8 assists per contest, shooting 52% from the floor.  His 24 total assists are a new 76 Classic tournament record. In addition to the assists, he shot 95.7 percent from the free throw line at the Classic, hitting 22 of 23 and is No. 9 in the country this season.  It is a first-time honor for the sophomore from Henderson, Nev.

Roquemore led the Broncos to victories over New Mexico and Villanova last weekend, and a third-place finish at the 76 Classic in Anaheim.  In the 79-76 overtime win over pre-tournament favorite New Mexico in the opener, Roquemore poured in 26 points.  Against Oklahoma, Roquemore posted a double-double with 27 points and 10 assists.  He poured in 15 points and dished out nine assists in the 65-64 comeback win over Villanova.  Santa Clara finished the final 2:56 minutes of the game on a 10-0 run to defeat the Wildcats with Roquemore hitting four clutch free throws with less than 10 seconds left to clinch the win over the Big East school.

Roquemore and Kevin Foster are tied for the WCC-lead with 17.0 ppg (Robert Sacre of Gonzaga is also averaging 17 ppg). Foster is No. 12 in the country in threes made and Roquemore is No. 19.  Roquemore leads the WCC with 6.33 apg and is shooting 96.0 percent from the free throw line, hitting 24 of 25 attempts this season, also tops in the WCC. He is No. 9 in the country in free throw percentage and 19 in the country in apg.  Santa Clara leads the WCC in free throw percentage (.748) and three pointers made with 10.5.

 

Faster Than You Think

Last season Kevin Foster assaulted the WCC and Santa Clara record books with 140 threes made on 380 threes attempted.  His 3.68 threes per game led the nation and the 140 threes was good enough for No. 9 all-time in NCAA history.

This season he has hit 21 winners and broke the career three-pointers made record set by Steve Nash (263, 119 games, 1992-96) vs. Oklahoma on Nov. 25. As a junior, he is already No. 6 on the WCC career list.  He needs seven to hit the top 5 and 96 to break the WCC career record held by Jeff Fryer of LMU (363, 1987-90).

Foster's 268 threes are also a Bay Area record and he hit the mark faster than Nash (took Foster 82 games and Nash set the record playing in 113 games).  Foster is on pace to crush Fryer's WCC record as well (LMU, 368).  Foster has averaged 3.2 threes per game during his career and if he plays in 31 games both this season and next season, he could hit 448.  The NCAA record is 457 by J.J. Redick of Duke (457 in 139 games).

He is climbing up the Bronco career scoring list as well. At No. 10 with 1,473, he needs 263 to catch school record holder Kurt Rambis (1,736, 1976-80).  

Foster's met Rambis on a number of occasions.  His daughter Ali is a sophomore on the SCU volleyball team and Rambis had his jersey retired Foster's freshman year during the Cable Car Classic.  

In Dallas last March for its CIT game at SMU, the team and coaches stopped by the Timberwolves hotel, in town to play the Mavs that night, to say hello to former Bronco and then-NBA head coach Kurt Rambis.  Rambis greeted each player and staff member with a big handshake and a smile.  When Coach Keating introduced Rambis to Foster, Foster smiled when Coach Keating said he was chasing his points scored career mark and Rambis remarked with a smile, "I hope you get it." 

WCC CAREER RECORD   Threes Made

1. Jeff Fryer (LMU 1987-90) 363

2. Jared Stohl (UOP 2007-11) 336

 3. Blake Stepp (GON 2000-04) 288

 4. Richie Frahm (GON 1997-00) 280

 5. Craig Davis (PEP 1985-90) 274

 6. Kevin Foster (SCU 2008-) 268

 7. Steve Nash (SCU 1993-96) 263

 

BRONCO CAREER RECORDS                          

1000 Career Points Scored

1. Kurt Rambis (1976-80) 1,736

2. Harold Keeling (1981-85) 1,731

3. Brian Jones (1996-01) 1,722

4. Steve Nash (1992-96) 1,689

5. Dennis Awtrey (1967-70) 1,675

6. John Bryant (2005-09) 1,667

  7. Londale Theus (1976-80) 1,643

8. Ken Sears (1951-55) 1,586

9. Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 1,571

10. Kevin Foster (2008-) 1,473


Career Three-Pointers Made

1. Kevin Foster (2008-) 268
2. Steve Nash (1992-96)  263

3.Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 225

Career Three-Pointers Attempted

1. Kevin Foster (2008-) 750

2. Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 679
3. Steve Nash (1992-95)  656

 

Perfect at Home

Santa Clara has played well at the Leavey Center so far this season, scoring 80+ in its two wins.  With three Bronco players knocking down four threes or more, Santa Clara defeated UC Merced 80-48 in its season opener on Fri., Nov. 11.   

The 14 threes made by the Broncos vs. UC Merced were the most since the Broncos made 15 vs. Gonzaga on March 5, 2001 and tied for the second-best mark in school history (14 vs. Pepperdine, Feb. 14, 2004).  It was a Leavey Center record as well, topping the 13 the Broncos made vs. Gonzaga twice (vs. Feb. 24, 2000 and vs. Jan. 6, 2005).  

Kevin Foster led the charge with five threes for 17 points and six assists as well. Foster led the country with 140 threes last season.  Evan Roquemore and Brandon Clark chipped in four threes each.  Clark was a perfect 4 of 4 beyond the arc in his rookie debut.

Eight days later, behind the 19 points and 10 rebounds of sophomore John McArthur, his first career double-double, Santa Clara defeated San Jose State 84-58 on Nov. 19. The Broncos are winners of eight of the last 10 vs. the Spartans.  McArthur was a perfect 11 of 11 from the free throw line and Coach Keating is 17-1 when Santa Clara scores 80+.

Santa Clara leads the series against SJSU 73-29.  Since 1980, Santa Clara has played San Jose State 30 times and Santa Clara has won 20 of those meetings.  The win was the first time in six meetings the home team won.