WATCH:Calling all Ruff Riders! Watch a special message from the Broncos and Coach Keating
WATCH: Keys to the game with assistant coach Jesse Pruitt
Winners of four straight games overall, including three straight in West Coast Conference play, Santa Clara (16-6, 4-3) returns home for its first league game at the Leavey Center since Jan. 12 when they host the Portland Pilots (8-14, 1-6) on Thurs., Jan. 31. Tip-off for the Portland game will be at 7 pm and it will be televised regionally on CSN Bay Area and ROOT Sports Northwest with Barry Tompkins and Dan Belluomini making the call. The game can also be heard live on KDOW 1220 AM with the broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. Anthony Passarelli is in his sixth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer.
Santa Clara posted its third straight WCC road win behind a game-high 23 points from Marc Trasolini in a 64-50 victory at San Diego on Jan. 23. Evan Roquemore added 18 points and Kevin Foster scored 15, moving ahead of former USF standout Bill Cartwright as the third most prolific scorer In WCC history. The Broncos overcame a sluggish first half to even the all-time series with the Toreros in games played in San Diego at 17-17. SCU shot just 32.3% and scored a season-low 27 first half points but still held a 27-23 lead at halftime, benefitting from 11 first-half USD turnovers. Up 30-29 early in the second half, the Broncos went on a 27-5 run spanning just over 12 minutes to put the game away. SCU shot 58% from the field in the second half and made 14-of-16 free throws. Trasolini (11), Roquemore (11) and Foster (12) all reached double figures in the half and combined for 34 of the team's 37 second half points.
During their four-game winning streak, the Broncos have held opponents to an average of 54 points a game and 37.2% field goal shooting (71-of-191) while scoring 74.5 points a game. Three of the four wins have been by double-digits with two coming by 30 or more points. They have four wins by 30+ points during the season and their +10.9 scoring margin is third-best in the WCC.
The Broncos will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak to the Pilots and end their 2-game WCC home losing streak after losses earlier this month to Gonzaga (Jan. 5) and BYU (Jan. 12). SCU is 10-4 (.714) at the Leavey Center this season and 55-39 (.585) overall under head coach Kerry Keating.
One of the highest scoring teams in the NCAA in terms of points, the Broncos rank No. 3 in Division I with a total of 1,692 points scored, behind only Iona (1,718) and fellow WCC member BYU (1,714). They matched their season-low point total in a 64-50 win at USD on Jan. 26, just the fourth time this season they failed to score at least 70 points in a game. SCU has not gone an entire season without at least one game with fewer than 60 points since 1980-81 when its lowest point total was 63. The Broncos benefit from the three-ball and are No. 11 in threes per game with 8.8, from assists as they are No. 16 nationally with 16.2 apg and also No. 20 in turnover margin at 3.8.
The Broncos are led by a trio of scorers in double-digits this season with 1,000 career points each. Kevin Foster (19.4 ppg, 2,118 career points), Marc Trasolini (15.5 ppg, 1,452) and Evan Roquemore (13.1 ppg, 1,149) were the first active trio in the country this year on the same team with 1,000 or more career points. Foster, No. 21 in scoring nationally as well as No. 10 in steals, is No. 2 in active career points scored behind Lehigh's C.J. McCollum (2,361) who is out for the season with a broken foot. Raymond Cowels III is closing in on the 1,000 point mark needing 53 points to become the fourth member of the 1,000 point club.
Calling All Ruff Riders on Thursday!
Bronco head men's basketball coach Kerry Keating understands the Ruff Riders are the men's basketball team's Sixth Man and at Thursday's game vs. Portland, he's ready to put his money where his mouth is to ensure Ruff Riders attendance! Coach Keating is encouraging the Ruff Riders to attend Thursday's game with his latest idea - a series of $100 cash giveaways post-game.
For every 100 Ruff Riders in attendance, Coach Keating will have a drawing for $100 cash after the game.
It works like this -- Ruff Riders will be scanned for admittance in the usual way. Each Ruff Rider will be given a ticket for the post-game drawing. Ruff Riders - you must be present for the drawing. As soon as the game is over, Coach Keating will draw one ticket for every 100 Ruff Riders who were counted for attendance. If there are 1000 Ruff Riders there, he will give away 10 $100 bills. If there are 2000 Ruff Riders there, he will have 20 drawings for $100 each!
"We want to encourage all the Ruff Riders to come to the game on Thursday. The more friends they bring, the most chances they will have to win $100 after the Portland game," said Keating. "I want the Ruff Riders there - they can help us win this game and they will be rewarded for their attendance post-game."
Santa Clara vs. The Pilots
The Broncos lead the all-time series with Portland 55-30 and hold a 32-8 advantage in games played in Santa Clara. The Pilots, however, have won four straight and eight of the last 10 meetings. Portland swept the 2012 regular season series winning 84-74 at home (1/5/12) and 84-78 at Santa Clara (2/2/12). The Pilots also posted a 74-70 win in the first round of the WCC Tournament in Las Vegas (2/29/12). SCU's last series win came at home on Jan. 22, 2011, a 72-59 decision. From 1988 to 2009 the Broncos won 22 of 23 games against Portland in Santa Clara. Ryan Nicholas collected two of his six double-double games last season against Santa Clara. He scored 19 points with 11 rebounds on Jan. 5, 2012 and netted a career-best 24 points with 11 boards in Portland's WCC Tournament win on Feb. 29, 2012. In three games against SCU last season he scored 62 points (20.7 ppg) shooting 75% from the field (24-of-32).
Marc Trasolini had a career-high 4 steals vs. Portland (2/28/09) … Evan Roquemore matched his career-highs with 11 of 12 performance at the free throw line vs. Portland (2/29/12) … Niyi Harrison attempted a career-high 13 field goals at Portland (1/5/12) … Kevin Foster played a career-high 44 minutes vs. Portland (2/28/09) and has scored in double-figures in all five games he's played against the Pilots … Brandon Clark had a career-best three steals vs. Portland (2/29/12) … Robert Garrett has made all four of his field goal attempts in three career games vs. Portland.
More Fun
The Broncos won their fourth straight game with a 64-50 victory at San Diego on Jan. 26 and have three win streaks of four games or more this season, the first time that has happened since the 1983-84 season … The teams have played twice on Jan. 31 with Santa Clara amassing the same point total in two wins a decade apart. The Broncos won 95-87 in 1981 and 95-69 in 1991 … Kevin Foster has made the same number of three-point baskets (381) as he has free throws during his career ... The Broncos have won seven games by 20 or more points this year .... SCU has allowed fewer than 20 first half points four times and has outscored opponents 805 to 639 in the first half … SCU has made exactly 100 more field goals (584) than their opponent (484).
1,000 and Counting
There have been 30 players in the history of SCU basketball to score 1,000 career points and three of them are on the current roster. SCU was the first Division I school with three 1,000 point scorers on its roster. Kevin Foster (2,118) 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 and became the fourth player in WCC history to score 2,100 career points vs. CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 23. Not even ranked in the top 25 career scorers in WCC history when the season began, Foster currently sits at No. 3 after passing Bill Cartwright (2,116) with his 15-point effort at San Diego on Jan. 26 and needs 84 points to move past LMU's Terrell Lowery, who scored 2,201 from 1988-92, for the No. 2 spot.
Marc Trasolini became the 13th Bronco to score 1,400 career points when he tallied 18 in a win at Pepperdine on Jan. 19 and now has 1,452. He scored 23 points at San Diego on Jan. 26 moving ahead of Bud Ogden (1,437) and Mike Stewart (1,446) into 11th on the school's career list. Next on the chart is Kyle Bailey at No. 10 who scored 1,571 points from 2001-05.
Evan Roquemore joined the 1,000-point club this season, reaching the plateau in a win at Pacific on Dec. 15. He scored his 1,100th career point at LMU on Jan. 10, becoming just the 25th player in school history to score that many. He currently has 1,149 career points and sits at No. 24 all-time. He needs 34 to move past Nathan Fast (1996-00, 1,182) and into the 23rd spot.
Inching Up
Raymond Cowels III has played in all but one game during his four-year career (family funeral) and has started 52 straight times since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. RC3 is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.7 ppg and needs 53 points to become the fourth member of the current roster to score 1,000 career points. Cowels III was held scoreless at San Diego after a stretch of five straight double-digit scoring games, which equaled a single-season career-long streak. His last scoreless game came at Pacific on Dec. 15, 2012 and he followed that with 12 points in a win over Cal Poly on Dec. 17.
Doing the D
During their current 4-game winning streak the Broncos have turned up the defensive pressure on opponents limiting the four teams to 37.2% field goal shooting (71-of-191) and 27.7% from beyond the arc (18-of-65) while holding them to an average of just 54 points a game. SCU has held three of the teams to under 40% shooting and opponents are shooting only 41.7% for the season. SCU held USF to 32% shooting (16-of-50) on Jan. 17, CS Bakersfield to 31.7% (13-of-41) on Jan. 23 and San Diego to 37.5% (18-of-48) on Jan. 26. The Broncos are 10-0 this season when limiting their opponent to below 40% shooting.
What If
Two of Santa Clara's six defeats this season came in overtime after the Broncos held a lead late in each game. Two other losses came at the hands of teams ranked in the top-10 at the time and one other came against a team that has 16 wins. During their two OT losses, which came in consecutive games, the Broncos allowed a late 3-point basket in each and lost both in the extra session. 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. The Gauchos would prevail 83-80. SCU lost at then No. 1 Duke, 90-77, on Dec. 29 and dropped an 81-74 decision to then No. 10 Gonzaga on Jan. 5. The Broncos' worst defeat of the season came on Jan. 12 when they fell 82-64 at home to BYU. Santa Clara will travel to BYU on Sat., Feb. 2.
All Time Leader
Kevin Foster added another record to his list of achievements during SCU's loss to BYU on Jan. 12. He is now the WCC's career leader in 3-point baskets made with 381 threes after breaking a tie with LMU's Jeff Fryer. Foster hit his 364th career 3 knocking down a shot from the corner with 10:44 left in the first half for the record.
Foster scored 15 points at San Diego on Jan. 26, his 19th double-digit scoring game of the season, making all eight of his free throw attempts and 1-of-5 three point shots. He has made at least one 3-point basket in 110 of his 117 career games played with five or more 3s in a game 28 times. Foster moved into sole possession of 16th place on the NCAA Division I all-time threes made list with 381 with his two against CSU Bakersfield and one at San Diego. He needs seven to tie Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn and crack the top 15 and is 19 away from becoming the 11th player in Division I to make 400 career threes.
Foster's 129 made threes in WCC games is No. 6 all-time in league history. He needs two to jump into the top five and he needs three to set the school record, now held by two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, who made 132 in his 56 league games. Nash is currently No. 4 all-time in WCC only games.
With 1,050 attempted, Foster is the SCU and WCC leader and he ranks No. 7 in NCAA Division I history. He needs 142 attempts to break the all-time NCAA record set by Keydren Clark in 2006 (1,192, Saint Peter's). Foster has attempted 10 or more 3s in a game 10 times this season and 54 times in his 117 game career.
1998-99 – sports-reference.com)
Rk Player 3PA From To Last School
1. Keydren Clark 1192 2003 2006 Saint Peter's
2. David Holston 1147 2006 2009 Chicago State
3. Joe Zeglinski 1140 2007 2011 Hartford
4. Gerry McNamara 1131 2003 2006 Syracuse
5. J.J. Redick 1126 2003 2006 Duke
6. Michael Watson 1098 2001 2004 Missouri-Kansas City
7. Kevin Foster 1045 2009 2013 Santa Clara
8. Chris Lofton 1027 2005 2008 Tennessee
9. Jack Leasure 1009 2005 2008 Coastal Carolina
10. Stephen Curry 1004 2007 2009 Davidson
Dishes
A 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award nominee, Evan Roquemore is Santa Clara's floor leader in minutes played (707) and is averaging 32.1 mpg. Roquemore dished out five assists against CSU Bakersfield and has at least five assists in all but three games this season to rank No. 2 in the WCC with 6.2 per game.
During SCU's Jan. 10 game at LMU, Roquemore scored his 1,100th career point and collected his 400th career assist joining Brian Jones, Steve Nash and Kyle Bailey as the only Broncos to amass that many points and assists over a career. He produced his first double-double game of the season, and third career, with 16 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the Cable Car Classic title game win over Wagner on Dec. 22.
Roquemore has 136 assists for the season and is on pace to break John Woolery's 1993-94 single season school record of 190. With 433 career assists, Roquemore has an outside chance of becoming the fourth Bronco with 500 by the time his junior season ends. He currently sits at No. 6 on the school's all-time assist list and needs 20 to overtake Kyle Bailey (2001-05) for the fifth spot.
West Coast Conference and Bay Area Scoring Leaders
With 15 points in a win at San Diego on Jan. 26, Kevin Foster passed former USF great Bill Cartwright for No. 3 on the WCC and Bay Area career scoring list. Foster will now be chasing Terrell Lowery for the No. 2 spot on the WCC chart, needing 84 points to overtake the former LMU standout, who scored 2,201 points from 1988-92. To pass No. 1 all-time – LMU's Hank Gathers (1987-90) for the WCC's top spot (2,490) – Foster would need to score 373 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.
Foster has reached double figures 19 times in 22 games this season, has topped the 20-point mark 12 times, and scored at least 30 in a game twice to lead the Broncos in scoring. He is just the fourth player to score 2,100 points in WCC history. Foster became the 7th player in West Coast Conference history to score 2,000 career points, reaching that mark on a runner in the lane early in the second half of SCU's loss to Gonzaga on Jan. 5. He scored his 1,900th career point on a 3-point basket at Pacific on Dec. 15 and also scored career point No. 1,800 on a three-pointer against Utah State on Nov. 28, converting his second 4-point play of the season after being fouled.
Against No. 10 Gonzaga on Jan. 5, he became the fourth player in Bay Area Division I history (includes Cal, Stanford, Santa Clara, Saint Mary's, USF and San Jose State), and the first in 21 years, to score 2,000 career points, joining Stanford's Todd Lichti (2,336) and Adam Keefe (2,319) and USF's Bill Cartwright (2,116). He needs 202 points to pass No. 2 Adam Keefe of Stanford.
Rank/Name School Years Total points
1.Todd Lichti Stanford 1986-89 2,336
2.Adam Keefe Stanford 1989-92 2,319
3.Kevin Foster Santa Clara 2008-13 2,118
4.Bill Cartwright USF 1976-79 2,116
First On
Seniors Marc Trasolini (93), Raymond Cowels III (72) and Kevin Foster (109) have started all 22 games for the Broncos this season and have combined for 274 starts in their Santa Clara careers. Evan Roquemore has started 21 of 22 games this season and has 76 career starts under his belt. The remaining nine players on the roster have a total of 116 career starts with Niyi Harrison leading the group with 44. Foster became the sixth Bronco to start 100 career games when SCU defeated Wagner in the title game of the Cable Car Classic on Dec. 22 and his 109 starts are the third-most in school history. With seven more starts he will tie Brian Jones (1996-01) for the school record.
Heating Up The Microwave
Kevin Foster's 768 points in 2010-11 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 that year. He was named first-team All-WCC and was named the WCC Player of the Month in 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 78 of 117 career games and he has scored 19+ in 56 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)
51. at Duke (Dec. 29, 2012) 29 (5)
52. vs. USF (Jan. 2, 2013) 21 (5)
53. vs. Gonzaga (Jan. 5, 2013) 29 (2)
54. vs. BYU (Jan. 12, 2013) 22 (3)
55. at USF (Jan. 17, 2013) 27 (6)
56. at Pepperdine (Jan. 19, 2013) 29 (6)