_ad_hoc.jpg?max_width=450)
Highlights
Santa Clara, Calif. – In the second consecutive sell-out crowd at the Leavey Center in less than 48 hours on national television, despite 19 points from both Niyi Harrison and Brandon Clark, Santa Clara fell 82-67 to Brigham Young in the Leavey Center on Saturday.
The Broncos fall to 8-19 overall, 0-14 in West Coast Conference action. BYU improves to 23-6, 13-3 in WCC play.
Santa Clara will play its final game in the Leavey Center this season against Pepperdine on Thursday, February 23rd at 7 p.m. The lone senior, Phillip Bach, will be honored before the game.
Santa Clara shot 46.2 percent from the field (23 of 56), including 29.4 percent beyond the arc (5 of 17). They collected 30 rebounds, 10 assists, two blocks and three steals. The Broncos shot 66.6 percent from the charity stripe (16 of 24) and turned the ball over 14 times.
Individually Santa Clara was led by Clark and Harrison's 19 points each. Raymond Cowels III added 14 for the Broncos while Evan Roquemore had six points and six assists.
BYU shot 58.5 percent from the field (31 of 53), including 25 percent beyond the arc (3 of 12). They collected 30 rebounds, 23 assists, four blocks and seven steals. The Cougars shot 77.3 percent from the charity stripe (17 of 22) and turned the ball over 13 times.
Individually Brigham Young was led by Noah Hartsock's 21 points and five rebounds. Brandon Davies scored 20 points and Charles Abouo chipped in 14. Brock Zylstra came off the bench to score 12 points for the Cougars.
In the first half Hartsock opened up the scoring on the inside. Davies added a baseline jumper. SCU strung together a 7-0 run before Hartsock and BYU countered with a 6-0 run of its own. Brandon Clark hit a three from the right side to tie the game at 10 with 13:20 remaining.
Cowels III made one free throw, and Harrison tipped home the miss on the second to give the Broncos a three-point lead. Hartsock continued his hot start, converting an and-one at 11:12 to give the Cougars a two-point lead. After the teams traded points, Brock Zylstra buried a three from the right corner to give the Cougars a 20-15 lead at 7:55.
BYU continued to pound the ball inside, as Davies finished an and-one at 5:55 to give the Cougars a 27-18 lead. Harrison finished inside and Cowels III buried a three to cut the lead to four. After a Davies bucket, Winder hit a straightaway three pointer and BYU's lead was back to nine.
SCU quickly put together a 6-0 run capped by a Brandon Clark mid-range jumper in transition at 2:07. Hartsock finished a lay up on an inbound pass but Harrison responded with a turn-around jumper.
Santa Clara shot 46.2 percent from the field (12 of 26), including 33.3 percent beyond the arc (3 of 9). They collected 14 rebounds, six assists, one block and three steals. The Broncos shot 50.0 percent from the charity stripe (4 of 8) and turned the ball over eight times. Individually Cowels III's 10 points led Santa Clara. Harrison scored nine points while B. Clark added five. Roquemore dished out five assists and added four points.
BYU shot 59.1 percent from the field (13 of 22), including 28.6 percent beyond the arc (2 of 7).
They collected 11 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks and five steals. The Cougars shot 75.0 percent from the charity stripe (6 of 8) and turned the ball over nine times. Individually Brigham Young was led by Hartsock's 13 points. Davies scored 11 points for the Cougars.
Winder scored in transition to start the second half. After a Davies layup, Harrison finished on a reverse but BYU responded with a Winder bucket. Harrison scored underneath the bucket but Hartsock responded with a bucket of his own. Harrison hit one of two at the stripe, but Abouo was left all alone for a layup after a loose ball.
B. Clark hit a floater and after a Davies free throw Johnson hit a pair of his own. Davies converted a second chance opportunity and then flushed down a dunk on an inbounds pass to give the Cougars their first double-digit lead at 13:02.
The teams swapped buckets before Abouo scored in transition. B. Clark drilled a three from the left side, tying his career-high of 12 to cut the lead back to single digits. Davies knocked down two free throws before Harrison converted an and-one on a second chance opportunity.
Austin buried two free throws, shooting for the injured Hartsock before Cowels III knocked down two of his own. B. Clark hit two free throws for SCU before Brock Zylstra scored five straight points for BYU to open up a 67-56 lead for the Cougars at 7:23.
B. Clark continued his hot shooting with a three from the right side. SCU had multiple opportunities to cut the lead but were unable to connect from the outside. Hartsock was left all alone underneath the hoop for an easy bucket. Hartsock hit a tough 13 foot fade away and the Cougars led by 12.
BYU kept the pressure on, converting back-to-back fast breaks and pushing its lead to 17 with three minutes to go. Santa Clara never got within 10 the rest of the way.