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Welcome Home Kevin Foster!
Santa Clara will travel to Kevin Foster's hometown for its game at Houston Baptist on Tues., Dec. 21 at 5 pm Pacific. Foster grew up in near-by Katy, Texas and attended Morton Ranch High School. The game will be streamed live on Fox Sports Houston for free - click here to watch it. The game will be broadcast on KDOW 1220 AM on a tape delay basis at 6 pm.
Santa Clara is 3-0 vs. Houston Baptist. The other three match-ups: a 85-59 victory vs. Houston Baptist on Jan. 25, 2009; a 68-65 victory on Dec. 14, 2009 in Houston and a 90-67 vs. HBU on Dec. 17, 2010 in Santa Clara. Santa Clara has two players from the Lonestar State: Foster (Katy) and Karim York (Austin).
HBU fell 97-62 to then-No. 24 Creighton on Dec. 17 and is 4-7 overall (3-1 at home, 0-5 away and 1-1 in neutral site games). The Huskies have five players averaging double figures: Art Bernardi leads the team with 15.0, Marcus Davis 13.1, Tyler Russell 11.7, Ronald March 10.3 and Joe Latas 10.0. Latas leads the team with 6.0 rpg, and Bernardi (5.8) and Davis (5.5) are also active on the boards. Marcel Smith and Jonathon Evans both average 2.18 apg and Davis and March grab 1.18 spg.
The Broncos will travel to Houston Baptist Wednesday and then play their last two non-conference games of the year in the 45th annual Cable Car Classic Dec. 29 and 30. Santa Clara starts out play on the road in the West Coast Conference quickly, traveling to Portland first on Jan. 5 and then Gonzaga on Jan. 7. It returns home to host San Diego in the home league opener on Jan. 12.
Santa Clara is 5-0 at home this season, 2-1 in neutral site games and 0-2 on the road. It is the best start at home for the Broncos since Santa Clara started the 1988-89 season 7-0 on its home court. Santa Clara is 6-0 when shooting better than the opposition from the field and 5-1 when shooting better beyond the three-point line. The Broncos are yet to play a Wednesday game this season, but are 4-10 under head coach Kerry Keating in their five years under his leadership.
The Broncos are fresh off two home wins vs. Pacifica and Pacific last week. The Broncos made easy work of the Mathadors, winning 84-59, but the Tigers gave them fits late in the second half and the game was won 78-76 by the Broncos in overtime. Kevin Foster led the scoring in both games, hitting a season-high six threes with a season-high 26 points in the Pacific game. Evan Roquemore had a career-high 11 assists and 14 points for his second career double-double.
With two 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. A loss to Oklahoma was sandwiched between wins vs. New Mexico and Villanova in Anaheim and the Broncos have since added the home wins vs. Cal State Northridge on Dec. 3, Pacifica on Dec. 13 and Pacific on Dec. 17.
Foster leads the team with 17.8 ppg, Evan Roquemore dishes out a team-leading 6.2 apg and Niyi Harrison and Yannick Atanga are the leaders on the boards, pulling down 6.5 rpg. Foster has scored in double figures every game this season and Roquemore has hit double figures in nine of the last 10 games dating back to last season. Harrison has had four 7+ rebound games this season.
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, SCU is without its top three rebounders from last season (Trasolini and graduation of Ben Dowdell and Troy Payne).
SCU finished last season 24-14 and won the post-season CIT 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 Houston Baptist game in the Leavey Center 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 5 p.m. online (SantaClaraBroncos.com) and 6 p.m. on KDOW1220 (tape delayed on KDOW due to programming). 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.
New Attraction!
Bronco fans who attended the men's basketball game with Pacific game on Dec. 17 may have noticed a new and rather large addition to the Leavey Center! Santa Clara has installed a full color 25 foot by 13 ½ foot video board, made by Daktronics, one of the industry leaders. The board will be fully operational as it makes its official debut at the 45th annual Cable Car Classic.
"The addition of the video board is yet another piece of the puzzle in furthering of our broad vision to create an unmatched game-day atmosphere for our sports that play in the Leavey Center (men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball). Enhancing the game-day atmosphere has been at the top of our priority list, not only to fuel the success of our teams but to create the type of school spirit, passion and excitement that our student-body craves," said Bronco Athletic Director Dan Coonan.
The HD compatible board specifically measures in at 24'11" wide and 13'6" high. It uses 10mm technology, which is the preferred technology for new boards at the collegiate and professional level
It is able to play both video and still images from a variety of feeds during men's basketball, women's basketball and volleyball games in the Leavey Center. Santa Clara will use it for prepared video, live statistics and live in-game video. The center-hung board will continue to be used for still images and live statistics.
45th Annual Cable Car Classic
The Broncos host the 45th annual Cable Car Classic on Dec. 29 and 30. Air Force tips off with Wagner at 6 pm on the 29th and the Broncos hook up with Eastern Michigan at 8:15 pm the same evening. The losers will play at 6 pm on Dec. 30 and the winner's will play for the Cable Car Classic at 8:15 pm. Santa Clara has won 15 titles, with its last title coming in a thrilling 89-88 overtime victory over UTEP on Dec. 30, 2008.
In 31 of the Classic's 44 years, the Classic has featured a team that would receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament just months later. For 10 years it has featured multiple teams who would later advance. The 1995 Cable Car Classic proved to be one of the strongest fields with all four teams advancing to the 1996 NCAA Tournament in March. Penn State won the Cable Car Classic with Georgia Tech, Santa Clara and Bradley also making the post-season. Georgia Tech won the ACC that year as well.
Air Force is 6-2 this season and it plays Santa Clara's WCC rival Gonzaga Dec. 22. Wagner is 7-3 this season and plays at No. 14 Pitt on Dec. 23 prior to the Cable Car Classic. Eastern Michigan is 4-6 after starting the season 4-1. They play at Radford on Tues., Dec. 22 and at Virginia Tech Dec. 22.
Tops
Kevin Foster leads the league with 3.8 threes per game and is No. 4 nationally after leading the country in threes last season. He also leads the league with 17.8 ppg and is No. 7 with 1.3 spg. Evan Roquemore is No. 18 nationally and the league leader with 6.2 apg and No. 2 in the WCC and No. 32 nationally, hitting 89.1 percent of his free throws (41 of 46). He is No. 4 in the league with 14.9 ppg and with 33.9 mpg. Niyi Harrison is second in the league shooting 56.1 percent from the field. Yannick Atanga is No. 2 with 2.9 offensive rpg and Harrison is fourth with 2.8 orpg.
Santa Clara leads the league in threes and is No. 4 nationally with 9.9 threes per game. In comparison, Saint Mary's is second in the league with 8.9 threes per game. Santa Clara is No. 4 in the WCC in scoring offense with 72.5 ppg. They are No. 2 in offensive rpg (12.5) and No. 3 in apg (14.0), assist/turnover ratio (1.1).
Add up These Numbers
Last season Kevin Foster tore through 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 37 three-pointers 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. 4 on the WCC career list. He needs five to jump to No. 3 and 80 to break the WCC career record held by Jeff Fryer of LMU (363, 1987-90).
Foster's 282 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). Consider this: Foster averages 3.7 threes per game during his career and if he plays in 31 games both this season and next season (regular season plus one WCC tournament game), he could hit more than 455. The NCAA record is 457 by J.J. Redick of Duke (457 in 139 games) and he has a shot at that number if the Broncos advance in the post-season.
Foster is climbing up the Bronco career scoring list as well. At No. 10 with 1,546 points, he needs 190 to catch school record holder Kurt Rambis (1,736, 1976-80, No. 21 on the WCC list). If he stays on pace with 17.8 ppg this season, Foster would break the school record at Pepperdine on Jan. 28 in the second half.
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."
Foster has a shot at the WCC career points scored record as well. He has averaged 17.8 ppg in his career and with just six players scoring 2,000 plus points in their careers in the WCC, the league record is 2,490 by LMU's Hank Gathers from 1987-90.
Highlights
* Kevin Foster tied a season-best with 26 points and six threes in the overtime win vs. Pacific. He tied the game at 69 each with 21 seconds left on the clock to push it to overtime.
* Evan Roquemore collected his second career double-double vs. Pacific with a career-high 11 assists and 14 points.
* Two walk-ons hit their first threes of the season vs. Pacifica on Dec. 13. Junior Kyle Perricone now has three career threes after hitting two last season. Freshman Nick Lamson scored his first career three vs. Pacifica.
* Raymond Cowels III has two+ threes in five of the last six games, including four vs. Pacifica on Dec. 13.
* Brandon Clark collected a career-high five assists vs. Pacifica with three Broncos collecting five+ assists. Roqmemore added five assists and Foster scored six.
* Three Broncos scored in double figures at Washington State: Foster (16), Niyi Harrison (14) and Roquemore (12).
* Harrison recorded his second career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. CSUN. Harrison's only other previous double-double came during his freshman year against Northeastern on Dec. 29, 2009 when he finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
* Scoring 20 points in the win over Cal State Northridge, Foster went four from nine from behind the arc while adding a career-high seven rebounds and season-high six assists. Foster has now scored 19+ points in 39 of 87 games in his career.
* Roquemore and 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 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 collect 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.
* 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.
Perfect at Home
Santa Clara has played well at the Leavey Center this season, scoring 80+ in three of its five wins. The 5-0 start is the best start at home for the Broncos since Santa Clara started the 1988-89 season 7-0 on its home court.
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. 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. 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.
Santa Clara is now 88-41 vs. Pacific all-time after the Broncos 78-76 overtime win over the Tigers on Dec. 17. Kevin Foster led all scorers by tying his season high with 26 points, including six threes. Evan Roquemore posted his second career double-double with 14 points and a career-high 11 assists.
Home Sweet Home on ESPN Network
Santa Clara will play at least eight games televised on the ESPN network during the regular season, with five ESPN games during West Coast Conference play. Its ESPN games in the WCC include: at BYU (ESPNU, Jan. 14), vs. Portland (Feb. 2, ESPNU), at USF (Feb. 9, ESPNU), vs. Gonzaga (Feb. 16, ESPN2) and vs. BYU (Feb. 18, ESPNU).
In addition to five league games on the ESPN network, Santa Clara was 2-1 on the ESPN network at the 76 Classic. It defeated New Mexico and Villanova on ESPNU and fell to Oklahoma on ESPN2.
Lots
In Santa Clara's 88-75 win over Air Force on March 18, 2010, Kevin Foster broke the school record with nine threes, tying a career-high with 36 points. He also had a career-high 36 in Santa Clara's 85-71 win over Gonzaga on Jan. 20, 2011. Foster shattered the WCC single season threes made record with 140 last season and grabbed the country's top spot in threes made per game as well with 3.68. His 768 points last season were No. 6 on the WCC's single season points scored list as he finished as the leading scorer in a single season in the Bay Area as well. He broke the school's single season mark for points scored, minutes played, threes made and threes attempted. Foster was named first-team All-WCC and was named the WCC Player of the Month for February and March. He was named the WCC Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com.
Foster was nicknamed 'Microwave' by his father during his youth after the Detroit Piston's Vinnie Johnson. Johnson earned the nickname 'the Microwave' from Celtics guard Danny Ainge for his ability to score many points in a short period of time, heating up the offense. Foster has scored 15+ points in 58 of 87 career games and he has scored 19+ in 39 career games. Foster's 19+ games follow:
Opponent/Date Pts. (3s)
1. vs. Arizona/Nov. 25, 2008 21 (5)
2. vs. Belmont/Dec. 29, 2008 24 (3)
3. at Harvard/Jan. 2, 2009 20 (4)
4. at Saint Mary's/Jan. 9, 2009 31 (5)
5. at Portland/Jan. 17, 2009 20 (3)
6. vs. LMU/Jan. 29, 2009 20 (3)
7. vs. Saint Mary's/Feb. 7, 2009 26 (4)
8. at LMU/Feb. 14, 2009 26 (5)
9. at USF/Feb. 21, 2009 20 (2)
10. vs. Gonzaga/Feb. 26, 2009 20 (3)
11. vs. San Diego/March 7, 2009 21 (4)
12. at CSUB/Nov. 13, 2009 21 (3)
13. vs. Menlo/Nov. 19, 2009 19 (4)
14. at Pacific/Nov. 22, 2009 22 (5)
15. vs. Fresno State/Nov. 28, 2009 25 (5)
16. vs. CSU Bakersfield/Nov. 12, 2010 19 (4)
17. at So. California/Nov. 15, 2010 26 (4)
18. vs. Bethune-Cookman/Nov. 21, 2010 21 (6)
19. vs. N. Colorado/Nov. 23, 2010 19 (4)
20. vs. UC Santa Barbara/Dec. 4, 2010 25 (6)
21. at San Jose State/Dec. 10, 2010 26 (3)
22. vs. Washington St./Dec. 19, 2010 29 (4)
23. at CSU Northridge/Dec. 22, 2010 22 (2)
24. vs. Bethany/Jan. 3, 2011 19 (6)
25. vs. USF/Jan. 8, 2011 26 (8)
26. vs. Gonzaga/Jan. 20, 2011 36 (6)
27. vs. Portland/Jan. 22, 2011 19 (3)
28. vs. LMU/Jan. 29, 2011 28 (3)
29.vs. St. Mary's/Feb. 10, 2011 25 (4)
30. vs. San Diego/Feb. 12, 2011 21 (3)
31. at Gonzaga/Feb. 17, 2011 27 (8)
32. at Portland/Feb. 19, 2011 29 (7)
33. vs. Air Force/March 18, 2011 36 (9)
34. at USF/March 22, 2011 27 (3)
35. at SMU (March 25, 2011 35 (5)
36. vs. New Mexico (Nov. 24, 2011) 26 (5)
37. vs. Oklahoma (Nov. 25, 2011) 19 (3)
38. vs. Cal State Northridge (Dec. 3, 2011) 20 (4)
39. vs. Pacific (Dec. 17, 2011) 26 (6)
Dandy Duo Will Play Again Next Year As Seniors
With senior Marc Trasolini sidelined for the season with a torn ACL suffered on Santa Clara's foreign tour to his hometown in Vancouver, he will return for his red-shirt senior year in 2012-13. Last season Trasolini and Kevin Foster combined for a number of firsts. Foster was the first WCC sophomore ever and the 28th player in school history to score 1,000 career points on Jan. 20. Trasolini was the 29th player to score 1,000 career points on Feb. 26. Foster is currently at No. 14 with 1,378 career points and Trasolini is at No. 24 with 1,096 points. Foster and Trasolini were the first duo to both hit 1,000 career points in the same year since then-seniors Jens Gordon and Mitch Burley did it in 1988-89. Gordon scored 522 points to finish his career with 1,356 and Burley scored 377 to finish with 1,258 career points.
Last season the Foster (766) - Trasolini (472) duo combined for 1,238 points as the No. 1 SCU Single Season Scoring Duo. They were just the seventh pair to hit 1,000 points in a season. Foster was in the top five already, scoring 486 points his freshman year with WCC Player of the Year John Bryant scoring 596 (No. 4 with 1,082 points).