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WATCH DAY 1 RECAP: BRONCOS PRACTICE AT UNC
After winning the title at its own Holiday Tournament, the 46th Annual Cable Car Classic, Santa Clara will travel to Durham, N.C. to play at No. 1 Duke (11-0) on Sat., Dec. 29 at 9 am Pacific. The game will be telecast nationally on ESPN2 with Carter Blackburn and Sean Farnham making the call. The game will be broadcast live on KLIV 1590 AM locally and also on SantaClaraBroncos.com world-wide. Anthony Passarelli is in his sixth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer.
The Broncos posted their sixth straight win with a 69-45 decision over Wagner in the championship game of the Cable Car Classic on Dec. 22. They improved to 11-2 on the season, their best start since 1988-89 when they recorded the same record through 13 games, and also reached the 11-win mark earlier on the calendar than any team in the school's history. The 1977-78 and 1961-62 teams each won their 11th game on Dec. 30. Its six-game win streak equals the longest in-season stretch since the team won six straight from Jan. 23-Feb. 7, 2009.
Vs. No. 1
Santa Clara's last match-up with a No. 1 team was Nov. 27, 1999 when the Broncos played No. 1 Cincinnati at the Big Island Invite in Hilo, Hawaii. UC won 88-67. All told, Santa Clara is 0-11 vs. No. 1 teams in its 106-year history. Its last win against a top 10 team was a 77-66 victory over then-No. 4 UNC at the Pete Newell Challenge in Oakland on Nov. 19, 2004. Note: the Broncos have never been ranked No. 1, but SCU was No. 2 for a week (Feb. 18, 1969).
Santa Clara vs. No. 1 Opponents (0-11)
Date School Score Place
2/14/55 USF 52-66 Santa Clara, Calif.
3/2/55 USF 61-73 San Francisco, Calif.
1/10/56 USF 56-74 San Francisco, Calif.
2/24/56 USF 44-80 Santa Clara, Calif.
3/15/69 UCLA 52-90 Los Angeles, Calif. $
1/21/72 UCLA 57-92 Los Angeles, Calif.
1/26/77 USF 68-74 San Francisco, Calif.
1/29/77 USF 70-71 Santa Clara, Calif.
12/6/80 DePaul 71-88 Chicago, Ill.
12/29/81 UNC 57-76 Santa Clara, Calif. @
11/27/99 Cincinnati 67-88 Hilo, Hawaii #
$ NCAA Second Round
@ Cable Car Classic
# Big Island Invitational
About Us
SCU three players averaging double figures including Kevin Foster (18.2), Marc Trasolini (16.3) and Evan Roquemore (13.8). Santa Clara is the only team Division I team in the country with three 1,000 career point scorers in Foster, Trasolini and Roquemore.
SCU had been one of just four teams (Iowa St., Drake, UNC Greensboro) to score 70+ points in every game this season, but that streak came to an end at 12 when SCU fell a point shy in its 69-45 win over Wagner on Dec. 22. The stretch of consecutive 70-point games was the longest for SCU since 1994 (last game of 93-94 season and first 10 games in 94-95 season), and the longest single-season run since a 12-game stretch from Dec. 20, 1980 to Jan. 31, 1981.
The Broncos average 78.8 ppg. Its average is bolstered by the team's scoring output in a season opening 106-66 win over Simpson College on Nov. 10. It 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.
Trasolini (84), Raymond Cowels III (62), Foster (100) and Roquemore (68) have started all 13 games for SCU this year and have combined for 314 starts in their SCU careers. The remaining nine players have 106 career starts with Niyi Harrison leading the group with 44. Foster became the sixth Bronco to start 100 career games on Dec. 22 vs. Wagner.
SCU opponents are shooting a combined 39.6% from the field and have been held to under 40% seven times in 13 games, including the last two when Alcorn St. (30.4%) and Wagner (30%) combined to make just 32-of-106 field goals (30.2%) during the Cable Car Classic. SCU has allowed an opponent to shoot over 50% from the floor just twice. Utah Valley shot 53.1% on Nov. 21 and Utah St. shot 56% on Nov. 28. During their current six-game win streak, the Broncos field goal defense is at 35% and they are allowing just 55.7 points per game.
1,000 and Counting
There have been 30 players in the history of Santa Clara basketball to score 1,000 career points and three of them are on the current roster. Santa Clara is the only team Division I team in the country with three 1,000 career point scorers in Foster, Trasolini and Roquemore.
Foster (1,927) became SCU's all-time scoring leader, surpassing 1980 West Coast Conference Player of the Year and former NBA star Kurt Rambis, in a win at St. Louis on Nov. 14. He's also looking to become the seventh player in WCC history and the fourth in Bay Area history to score 2,000 career points Trasolini scored his 1,300th career point in a win over Alcorn St. on Dec. 21 and currently sits at 18th on the school's list with 1,324. Roquemore joined the 1,000-point club this year, reaching the plateau in a win at Pacific on Dec. 15 with two free throws to ice the game with 2.4 seconds left. With 1,040 career points, Roquemore is 27th on the school's career list.
Raymond Cowels III has played in all but one game during his four-year career (attended a family funeral) and has started 43 straight times since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. RC3 is fourth on the team in scoring with an 8.5 ppg average and needs 155 points to become the fourth member of the 2012-13 roster to score 1,000 career points. RC3 and Trasolini have each played in 112 games, the most of any current player. Foster has the most starts with 100.
That Close
SCU is just 2.4 seconds away from being undefeated this season. During its 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 3 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. SCU 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 seven 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.
Road Warriors
The Broncos will put their 3-0 road record on the line when they travel to No. 1 Duke on Dec. 29. They have played 10 of their 13 games on the Mission campus and will be playing outside the state of California for just the second time this season. SCU won at St. Louis on Nov. 14 and defeated neighboring San Jose State (Dec. 11) and Pacific (Dec. 15) to win three consecutive true road games at the start of a season for the first time since the 1993-94 season.
Bay Area Elites
Kevin Foster is on the verge of joining elite company in Bay Area college basketball annals. Foster needs 73 points to score 2,000 points to become the fourth player in Bay Area Division I history (includes Cal, Stanford, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's, USF and San Jose State) to do so. Todd Lichti (Stanford, 1986-89) leads the way with 2,336 points, followed by Adam Keefe (Stanford, 1989-92) with 2,319 and Bill Cartwright (USF, 1976-79) with 2,116.
1. Todd Lichti Stanford 1986-89 2,336 points
2. Adam Keefe Stanford 1989-92 2,319
3. Bill Cartwright USF 1976-79 2,116
Foster would become the first Bay Area player in 21 seasons to reach 2,000 career points, the most recent being Keefe, who was a senior at Stanford in 1991-92.
Foster had a night to forget in the championship game of the Cable Car Classic on Dec. 22. Foster scored just two points on a pair of free throws. It was his second-lowest career total, and failed to make a field goal for just the second time in his career. Foster was held scoreless at Florida Atlantic on Nov. 18, 2008, in the third game of his now 108-game career. Still, Foster has reached double figures in scoring 11 times in 13 games, has topped the 20-point mark six times, and scored at least 30 in a game twice to lead the Broncos in scoring at 18.2 ppg.
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 WCC's top 25 in career points when the season started, Foster is now ninth with 1,927 points. 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).
Traz: Dec. 24 WCC Player of the Week, Senior CLASS Nominee
Inspired by some very special children he met earlier in the week, Marc Trasolini had a monster performance to help the Broncos win the 46th annual Cable Car Classic. Trasolini's performance earned him both Cable Car Classic MVP honors and West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 24. Trasolini was also named the Lou Henson award national player of the week honors by CollegeInsider.com.
Trasolini averaged 23.7 points and 7.7 rebounds per game in leading the Broncos to a 3-0 week. Trasolini connected on 68.4% of his field goal attempts – including 4-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc – and hit 75% of his free throw attempts, while blocking three shots per game. His 24 blocked shots lead the WCC.
After posting 24 points with seven boards in the Broncos 72-64 victory over Cal Poly Dec. 17, Trasolini teamed up with four of his teammates to visit Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford on Dec. 18. The Broncos, which included Trasolini, Robert Garrett, John McArthur, Raymond Cowels III and Denzel Johnson, visited with children with cancer at the hospital in the afternoon. They played games, did crafts, signed autographs, passed out t-shirts and chatted with the children.
Trasolini walked away from the hospital feeling humbled. He said he felt blessed for the opportunities he has been given as a college basketball player and felt like he shouldn't take anything for granted. "There was the cutest little six-year-old girl who couldn't walk because of her cancer. She was so sweet. These children with cancer don't have what we have – it goes to show you how lucky we are and that was quite an experience for me," said Trasolini later in the week. "Cancer is a hard enough thing to go through as an adult. It is terrible it has to happen to these kids – they did nothing wrong. They don't deserve it."
Trasolini added that after visiting with the kids he felt like he had to make the most of his own opportunities with his team. "We have to take advantage of what we have been given," said Trasolini. "Going out in the community and helping children – it's important we do things like that."
Trasolini is a regular at community service events and earlier in the season was named as one of the 30 nominees for the Senior CLASS Award. Bronco head coach Kerry Keating had this to say about Trasolini in the community. "On our annual trip to the Great America park to spend the day with Courageous Kids (kids with cancer) Marc has been front and center each year. At 6-9 240, he is easily visible, but the kids feel his heart when he spends time with them because he is a good person, not because he is a basketball player and tall. Marc has been a fixture at our annual summer camp and relishes his role as teacher and role model, and has developed a comfort in being easily noticeable but has more so developed strength in being a role model and good citizen."
On the court Dec. 21 and 22 at the 46th Annual Cable Car Classic, Trasolini made the most of his time. Trasolini recorded his second double-double of the season with a game-high 24 points and 11 rebounds in a first-round Cable Car Classic win over Alcorn St. on Dec. 21. It was also the second double-double in three games and eighth career for the senior from Vancouver, B.C. . He hit three threes in the 69-45 Dec. 22 victory over Wagner, scoring 23 points with five rebounds and five more blocks.
Trasolini will begin his fourth quarter of work on his MBA in Santa Clara's Leavey School of Business. He is returning for his fifth season on the court after sitting out last season after tearing his ACL in Sept., 2011 on the team's foreign tour to Canada. Trasolini averaged 12.8 ppg, 0.9 bpg and 6.1 rpg in 26.4 mpg during his junior year (2010-11), helping lead the team to the post-season CIT title.
Trasolini earned CBE Hall of Fame Tournament MVP honors after putting on a shooting display. Trasolini shot 61.5% from the field (24 of 39) and averaged 24 ppg in the three games. Against Utah Valley on Nov. 21, Trasolini made 10 of 12 field goals, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range, and converted 7 of 8 free throws for a season-high 29 points. It was his highest point total since netting a career-best 31 against LMU on Feb. 24, 2011.
Spark-plug
Brendan Clark provided a spark off the bench for SCU and was rewarded with the D.J. Frandsen '6th Man' Award at the Cable Car Classic. Playing a season-high 28 minutes against Alcorn St., just the fourth time in his career he's played at least that many, Clark netted a season-best 14 points with 3 assists. He followed that with 13 points and 3 assists in the title game win over Wagner totaling 27 points on 8-of-14 (57.1%) shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. In 11 games prior to the Classic, Clark had scored 58 points on 15-of-38 (39.5%) shooting and had scored in double figures once.
Blocks
Led by Marc Trasolini's team-high 27 blocked shots and 23 from Robert Garrett, the Broncos lead the WCC with an average of 5.1 blocks per game. Trasolini has had three blocks in each of his last three games, and has recorded a season-high 3 blocks seven times. He currently ranks 3rd at SCU in career blocks with 149, 10 behind Nick Vanos (1981-85) for second place on the school's career list.
Big Rob
The Broncos are undefeated since 7-foot sophomore Robert Garrett was inserted into the starting lineup six games ago. Averaging just over 15 minutes of playing time a contest, Garrett has helped SCU match the longest win streak in head coach Kerry Keating's tenure. The team also won six straight from Jan. 23, 2009 to Feb. 7, 2009. 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. In his six games as a starter this season, Garrett is 10-of-16 from the field with 24 points, 14 blocks and 27 rebounds.
First Half
The Broncos have outscored their opponents by 121 points (481-360) in the first half of all games and have led at the break 10 times. SCU has held three of its opponents to fewer than 20 first half points to help with the scoring margin. Wagner needed five points in the final 18 seconds of the first half to reach 19, matching the second-lowest first half point total allowed by SCU. Pacific Union scored 17 first half points on Dec. 8 and USC Upstate also scored 19 in the first half on Nov. 20.
Buckets Beyond
After becoming the third player in WCC 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 sank a pair of 3s vs. Alcorn State on Dec. 21, giving him 348 to move within 15 of the league's all-time leader, LMU's Jeff Fryer, who sank 363 threes from 1987-1990. Foster has made at least one 3-point basket in 101 of his 108 career games played and he has made five or more 3s in a game 24 times. Foster became the WCC's all-time leader in 3-point attempts with his second of nine treys launched vs. Cal Poly. He has 960 career attempts by surpassing Fryer vs. Cal Poly, who attempted 940 threes, 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 35 points against SMU, one off his career-best, when the team's played in the semifinals of the CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament on Mar. 25, 2011, going 13-of-23 from the field, including 5-of-13 on 3-point attempts. 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.
Rocking It
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced the watch list of candidates for the 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award on Dec. 20 and Evan Roquemore was on the list. The annual honor, named for Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic Bob Cousy, recognizes the top point guards in college basketball. Santa Clara's leader in minutes played and averaging over 32 a game, Roquemore is the team's floor leader. In two Cable Car Classic games, E-Rock scored 24 points, pulled down 14 rebounds and handed out 12 assists to earn All-Tournament team recognition. Roquemore produced his first double-double game of the season, and third career, with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the title game win over Wagner on Dec. 22.
During SCU's current 6-game win streak, Roquemore has scored 81 points (13.5 ppg) with 26 rebounds and 40 assists to just eight turnovers. He ranks 16th nationally with 6.5 assists per game and has handed out five or more in each of the last 12 games with a season-high 10, one shy of his career-best, against Pacific Union on Dec. 8. Roquemore has 84 assists for the season and is on pace to break John Woolery's 1993-94 single season record of 190. He could also become the fourth Bronco with 500 career assists by the end of his junior season. Roquemore, who currently has 381 career assists, ranks 8th on the school's all-time list.
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.
Traz
Marc Trasolin's game-high 23 points in the Cable Car Classic championship game win over Wagner on Dec. 22 were his third straight 20+ point game, the fifth of the season and 16th career. Trasolini scored his 1,300th career point against Alcorn St. and currently ranks 18th on SCU's all-time scoring list with 1,324 points, 22 behind Marlon Garnett (1,346) for the 17th spot. Trasolini is second on the team in scoring with an average of 16.3 ppg and is one of three Broncos scoring in double figures. His offensive production has been a key for the Broncos. In the team's 11 wins Trasolini is averaging 18.3 ppg with nine double-digit scoring games, while in the two losses he scored a combined 11 points (5.5 ppg).
Trasolini recorded his seventh 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, and the first for Trasolini since scored 12 points with 14 rebounds vs. Northern Arizona on Mar. 15, 2011.
Trasolini also leads the team with 27 blocked shots and tops the WCC with 2.1 per game. He had three blocks vs. Wagner, the seventh time he's recorded three in a game this season, and currently ranks third at SCU in career blocks with 149. Nick Vanos (1981-85) sits in second place on the school's career list with 159 behind all-time leader John Bryant (2005-09) who recorded 246 during his career.
Microwave Cookin
In Santa Clara's 88-75 win over Air Force on March 18, 2011, 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 108 career games and he has scored 19+ in 50 career games.