Assistant Coach Jesse Pruitt's Three Keys to the Game
Returning home after a two-game road swing around the Bay Area, Santa Clara (8-2) hosts Big West Conference member Cal Poly (4-4) on Mon., Dec. 17 at 7 pm. With three straight wins the Broncos improved to 8-2 in 2012-13, their best 10-game start to a season under head coach Kerry Keating, and their best start since posting the same record through 10 games in 1997-98. With their 75-71 win at Pacific on Dec. 15, the Broncos have also won three consecutive true road games at the start of a season for the first time since the 1993-94 season.
The Broncos lead the all-time series 3-1 with Cal Poly, including a 3-0 record at home. The two teams last faced off Dec. 10, 2005 when the Broncos won 73-58 at home. In the only meeting at Cal Poly, the Mustangs nipped the Broncos 98-89 on Dec. 12, 2004.
Cal Poly has won every other game this year, including a 70-68 victory at then-No. 13 UCLA on Nov. 26. Chris Eversley's third double-double of the season and fifth of his career -- 14 points and 12 rebounds -- lifted Cal Poly to a 60-57 victory over NCAA Division II Eastern New Mexico on Dec. 14. Brian Bennett added 11 points -- his fifth straight double-digit scoring game -- and junior guard Kyle Odister tallied 10 points off the bench.
The Broncos have three players averaging double figures including Kevin Foster (21.2), Marc Trasolini (14.1) and Evan Roquemore (13.9). Santa Clara has scored at least 74 points in every game this season and ranks 12th nationally (through games of 12/15) with an average of 81.4 ppg. The average is bolstered by the team's scoring output in a season opening 106-66 win over Simpson College on Nov. 10. The point total in that game tied for the 13th highest in SCU history and was the first 100-point game since scoring 101 against Pepperdine on Jan 21, 2008. The Broncos also tallied 89 against Eastern Washington (Nov. 23), 85 against USC Upstate (Nov. 20) and 80 against UCSB (Dec. 1) giving them four 80+ point games for the season. They scored 80 or more points in a game just three times during the 2011-12 season and have not averaged more than 80 points a game for an entire season since 1979-80.
The Broncos are just 2.4 seconds away from being undefeated this season. During their two losses, which came in consecutive games, they allowed a late 3-point basket in each and lost both in overtime. Utah State's Preston Medlin hit a game-tying three with 2.4 seconds left in regulation to send the game into OT and the Aggies handed Santa Clara its first loss of the season, 80-78, on Nov. 28. The Broncos endured a similar fate against UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 1, when Kyle Boswell hit a contested three at the regulation buzzer to tie the game, 71-71. Trailing, 83-80, with 7 seconds left in OT, Kevin Foster was fouled before attempting a potential game-tying shot. Foster missed both free throw attempts and the Broncos dropped their second straight.
Listen Here!
The Cal Poly game on Monday will be broadcast live on the web at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com and also broadcast live on KDOW 1220 AM with the broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. Pacific. Anthony Passarelli is in his sixth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer.
Join the Club!
Evan Roquemore scored his 1,000th career point with his second made free throw to ice the game at UOP with 2.7 seconds left on Dec. 15, becoming the 30th player in SCU history to reach that level. Roquemore scored 21 points with a career-high tying seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals playing in all but two minutes of the game. It was his third 20-point game of the season and 10th of his career. "He did play a lot of minutes and he responded. Evan is doing a tremendous job of running the offense," said Bronco head coach Kerry Keating.
During the current 3-game win streak, Roquemore has scored 41 points with 23 assists and just three turnovers. He ranks 14th nationally with 6.7 assists per game and has handed out five or more in each of the last nine games with a season-high 10, one shy of his career-best, against Pacific Union on Dec. 8. Roquemore has 67 assists for the season and is on pace to break John Woolery's 1993-94 single season record of 190 and could also become the fourth Bronco with 500 career assists by the end of his junior season. Roquemore, who currently has 364 career assists, moved into No. 8 on the school's career list, passing Harold Keeling who amassed 344 assists from 1981-1985.
Traz
Marc Trasolini recorded his 7th career double-double and the first by a Bronco this season with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the team's 75-71 win at Pacific on Dec. 15. It was the first double-double game by a SCU player since Niyi Harrison scored 13 points with 13 rebounds against Eastern Michigan on Dec. 29, 2011.
Trasolini has half of the career double-double games compiled by the 2012-13 Broncos. He has four near-miss double-doubles this season, missing it by one rebound or one point each time. Trasolini became the 21st Bronco to score 1,250 career points (1,253) and needs four to crack the school's top 20 (Frank Sobrero - 1,256).
Big Rob
Since being inserted into the starting lineup, 7-foot sophomore Robert Garrett has proved he belongs. In his first start of the season, and second of his career, Garrett pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds against Pacific Union on Dec. 8 while adding nine points on 4 of 5 shooting from the field with 2 blocked shots in a career-high tying 21 minutes. Making consecutive starts for the first time, he scored eight points with four blocks at San Jose State on Dec. 11 and had four points, 1 rebound and a block at UOP. In the three games as a starter this season, Garrett is 9-of-13 from the field with 21 points and seven blocks.
Moving On Up
Kevin Foster has reached double figures in scoring nine times in 10 games, has topped the 20-point mark six times, and scored at least 30 in a game twice to lead the Broncos in scoring and place 12th nationally with a 21.2 ppg average. Foster became the 10th player in West Coast Conference history to score 1,900 career points, reaching that mark on a 3-point basket with less than a minute to play in a 75-71 win at Pacific on Dec. 15. He also scored career point No. 1,800 on a three-pointer against Utah State on Nov. 28, and converted his second 4-point play of the season after being fouled on the shot. Not even ranked in the West Coast Conference's top 25 in career points when the season started, Foster is now 10th with 1,903 points, passing Saint Marys' Daniel Kickert (1,874) and Nevada's Edgar Jones (1,877) with his 31 point night at UOP on Dec. 15. Foster became SCU's career points leader, overtaking 1980 WCC Player of the Year Kurt Rambis, in a win at St. Louis on Nov. 14. It's unlikely he will catch LMU's Hank Gathers (1987-90) for the WCC's top spot (2,490), but Foster could crack the top five and at his current pace for an entire season take the No. 2 overall spot, currently held by LMU's Terrell Lowery (2,201).
After becoming the third player in West Coast conference history to make over 300 3-point shots in a career, Foster has his sights set on the league's all-time record. Foster sank four 3s at Pacific on Dec. 15, giving him 344 to move within 19 of the league's leader, LMU's Jeff Fryer, who sank 363 threes from 1987-1990. Foster has made at least one 3-point basket in 99 of his 105 career games played, including every game this season, and has made five or more 3s in a game 24 times. Foster will most likely break the WCC's record for 3-point attempts first. With 939 career 3-point attempts, Foster trails Fryer by only one (940) for the league's career lead in that category.
Foster scored a team season-high 31 points in a 75-71 win at Pacific on Dec, 15, the second time this season he's scored 30 or more points in a game and sixth time in his career, tying him with Bud Ogden for the second-most in school history. Foster scored 11 straight SCU points in a 2:24 span late in the game at UOP, lifting the Broncos from a 3-point deficit to a 5-point lead. SCU has won the last five games in which Foster scores 30 or more and is 5-1 in the six games when he reaches that plateau. He scored 30 at St. Louis on Nov. 14 and trails Dennis Awtrey by one for the most games of 30+ points in SCU history.
Talkers
Did Coach Keating think one thing stood out in the Saint Louis win? "It's something that can't be seen. It's something we have been working on. The coaches, the staff and the entire team have been working on. Staying in the vision, not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Playing one possession at a time. Everybody executing their role to the best of their ability. It was a great way for us to start this tournament."
Marc Trasolini also nodded his cap towards Kevin Foster's play in the Midwest. "For most of the game we let Kevin go off. He was hot and we kept going to him. It was working," said Trasolini. "We played tough D and got a lot of rebounds. Our defense was as good as it's been in a long time. They are a good team and we held them to 62 points and forced 17 turnovers."
Foster Named November's WCC Player of the Month
Kevin Foster was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Month for November 2012. Foster averaged 21.7 points per game in leading SCU to a 5-1 month, its best start since 1968. Foster connected on 46.9% of his field goal attempts, 40% from beyond the three-point arc (20-for-50), and 86% from the free throw line. In addition, Foster averaged 4.2 steals -- tops in the nation last month -- and 4.2 assists per contest. He scored 21+ points four times last month.
Foster passed Kurt Rambis to become Santa Clara's all-time leading scorer with 1,849 points in the Broncos 74-63 win at Saint Louis on Nov. 14 when he scored 30 points. In addition to being the school's all-time leading scorer, he is also No. 1 in field goal attempts, threes attempted and threes made. He is No. 2 in career threes made in the West Coast Conference as well.
Also nominated for WCC Player of the Month: Brandon Davies, BYU; Elias Harris, Gonzaga; Lorne Jackson, Pepperdine; Matthew Dellavedova, Saint Mary's; Johnny Dee, San Diego; Cole Dickerson, San Francisco
Microwave Cookin'
After becoming just the third player in West Coast conference history to make over 300 3-point shots in a career, Kevin Foster has his sights set on the league's all-time record. Foster currently has 344 career made 3's, good enough for No. 2 on the WCC all-time list. He needs 20 threes to break the WCC record set by Jeff Fryer from 1987-90. He topped Steve Nash's school record of 263 threes (1992-96) early last season.
In Santa Clara's 88-75 win over Air Force on March 18, 2010, 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 in 2010-11 and grabbed the country's top spot in threes made per game as well with 3.68. His 768 points that 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 70 of 105 career games and he has scored 19+ in 50 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)
40. at Houston Baptist (Dec. 21, 2011) 19 (3)
41. vs. Eastern Michigan (Dec. 29, 2011) 25 (6)
42. vs. Wagner (Dec. 30, 2011) 20 (4)
43. at BYU (Jan. 14, 2012) 22 (4)
44. vs. Saint Mary's (Jan. 21, 2012) 22 (5)
45. vs. Simpson (Nov. 10, 2012) 27 (7)
46. at Saint Louis (Nov. 14, 2012) 30 (2)
47. vs. Utah Valley (Nov. 21, 2012) 21 (1)
48. vs. Utah State (Nov. 28, 2012) 27 (5)
49. vs. UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 1, 2012) 28 (4)
50. at Pacific (Dec. 15, 2012) 31 (4)