Santa Clara Game Notes

RED OUT: WEAR YOUR BRONCO RED ON THURSDAY NIGHT!  

The Broncos (17-7, 5-4) return home to face Bay Area rival Saint Mary's (19-4, 8-1) on Thurs., Feb. 7 after having their five-game win streak come to an end at BYU on Feb. 2.  

Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. (PST) with the game being televised on ESPN2.  Dave Flemming and Corey Williams will make the call on ESPN2.  The game can also be heard live on KDOW 1220 AM with the broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. Anthony Passarelli is in his sixth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer.

These long-time rivals and original WCC members continue their series that began in 1910 and will be playing for the 213th time. Santa Clara has played Saint Mary's more than any other team in the school's 106-year basketball history and leads the series 131-81, including a 62-25 record at home. Saint Mary's has swept the season series in each of the last three seasons and has won seven straight series games and 10 of the last 11. Santa Clara's last series win came exactly four years ago with a 70-52 decision at home on Feb. 7, 2009.

Santa Clara lost to BYU for the second time this season and eighth straight time overall dropping a 96-79 decision Feb. 2 at the Marriott Center. SCU hung close against the Cougars and trailed by just one, 54-53, following a Kevin Foster jumper in the second half. But BYU went on a 22-6 run over the next 8:22 to put the game away. BYU shot 60.6 percent from the field in the second half and 58.3 percent for the game in posting the highest point total allowed by the Broncos in the Kerry Keating era. It was also the most points scored against SCU since Feb. 17, 2005 in a 97-93 overtime loss to Pepperdine. For the first time this season the Broncos had five double-digit scorers led by Kevin Foster's 18 points. Foster made three 3-point baskets giving him 133 in conference-only games breaking Steve Nash's school record (132) and moving into No. 4 in the WCC. Foster also tied his career-best with nine assists. Marc Trasolini (15), Evan Roquemore (14), Raymond Cowels III (13) and Brandon Clark (11) were the others to reach double figures.

With 17 wins this season, the Broncos have amassed their second-highest victory total in head coach Kerry Keating's six seasons and have the third-most wins in the program's last 12 seasons. Santa Clara is 11-4 (.733) at the Leavey Center this season and 56-39 (.589) under head coach Kerry Keating. 

One of the highest scoring teams in the NCAA in terms of points, the Broncos rank No. 4 in Division I with a total of 1,841 points scored, behind only Iona (1,882), BYU (1,873) and Indiana (1,844). They reached 70 in a game for the 20th time this season in their 96-79 loss at BYU on Feb. 2 and have not scored fewer than 64 points in a game this season. Santa Clara has not gone an entire season without at least one game scoring fewer than 60 points since 1980-81 when its lowest point total in a game was 63. It's also the 14th time in school history the team has accumulated 20+ games with 70 or more points.

The Broncos are led by a trio of scorers in double-digits this season with 1,000 career points each. Kevin Foster (19.0 ppg, 2,146 career points), Marc Trasolini (15.8 ppg, 1,490) and Evan Roquemore (12.7 ppg, 1,166) are the first trio in the country on the same team with 1,000 or more career points. Foster is No. 2 nationally 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 29 points to become the fourth member of the 1,000 point club.

Our Rivals

This will be the 213th meeting between the schools with Santa Clara holding a 131-81 advantage overall and 62-25 at home. Santa Clara has faced both USF and Saint Mary's 212 times over the years and this game will break that tie. There has been a series sweep in six of the last seven seasons with Saint Mary's claiming five (2012, 11, 10, 08 and 06) and Santa Clara one (2007). The schools played for the first time on Feb. 19, 1910 with Saint Mary's claiming a 42-13 win. The Gaels' current 7-game win streak is their longest in the series and is tied for the second-longest behind SCU's 12-game string from 1968 to 1974. 

Kevin Foster is averaging 22.8 ppg in six games against SMC and has made 25-of-52 3-point shots (48.1%) … Denzel Johnson attempted a career-high 20 field goals at SMC (2/11/12) … Niyi Harrison scored a career-high 23 points vs. SMC (1/21/12) … Brandon Clark played a career-most 30 minutes at SMC (2/11/12) … Marc Trasolini scored 22 points the last time he played against SMC (3/6/11). 

Tip Ins

The Broncos have three winning streaks of five or more games this season … Kevin Foster has scored over 100 points against every WCC team except BYU (62) and Pepperdine (77). He's scored 137 points in six career games against Saint Mary's … Brandon Clark is the only non-starter to have more than one double-digit scoring game off the bench. Clark has scored 10 or more points six times this season, including two straight … Foster became the eighth player in school history to collect over 400 career assists (411) … The Broncos have held opponents to fewer than 20 first half points five times this season.

Line Up Cards

Seniors Marc Trasolini (95), Raymond Cowels III (74) and Kevin Foster (111) have started all 24 games for the Broncos this season and have combined for 280 starts in their Santa Clara careers. Evan Roquemore has started 23 of 24 games this season and has 78 career starts under his belt.  The remaining nine players on the roster have a total of 118 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 111 starts are tied for second-most in school history with Brody Angley (2004-08). With six more starts he will break the school record of 116 set by Brian Jones from 1996-01.

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. Bucknell and Loyola Maryland have since matched the Broncos.

  Kevin Foster (2,146) 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 56 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 23 in a win vs. Portland on Jan. 31 and now has 1,490. 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 1,166 career points and sits at No. 24 all-time. He needs 17 to move past Nathan Fast (1996-00, 1,182) and into the 23rd spot.

29

Raymond Cowels III has played in all but one game during his four-year career (family funeral) and has started 54 straight times since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. RC3 is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.9 ppg and needs 29 points to become the fourth member of the current roster to score 1,000 career points and the 31st in school history.  SCU will be the first team in the country with four 1,000 point scorers this year.  Its three 1,000 point scorers is already a school record (in a single season).

Cowels III scored 13 at BYU, including three threes and he was 4-of-4 from the free throw line.  He has hit three plus threes 12 times this season, including six league games.  Cowels III was held scoreless at USD Jan. 26 after a stretch of five straight double-digit scoring games, which equaled a single-season career-long streak. In two games since being held scoreless at USD, RCIII has scored 24 points making 50% of his 3-point attempts (6-of-12).

Tough Luck

Santa Clara's seven losses this season have come against six different teams with a combined record of 89-42 (.679). Four of the six teams have won at least 11 more games than they have lost and two top-10 teams have lost just twice on the season (Duke 19-2; Gonzaga 21-2). The Broncos have also lost to BYU twice (18-6), Utah State (16-5), LMU (8-13) and UC Santa Barbara (7-14).

Race To The Line

The top two free throw shooting teams in the WCC will be on the court Thursday. Saint Mary's tops the conference at 73.8 percent with Santa Clara not far behind at 73.1 percent. Since shooting 58.3 percent from the line in a win at USF on Jan. 17, the Broncos have found their range converting 78.7 percent (74-of-94) from the stripe over the last five games. Three of the top eight free throw shooters in the conference are on the Broncos roster with Brandon Clark at No. 5 (82.5%), Kevin Foster at No. 6 (80.7) and Evan Roquemore at No. 8 (80%). Roquemore has made 16 of 17 free throws over the last five games and Foster has converted 14 of 15 over the last four games. Clark is 52-of-63 from the stripe on the year. Raymond Cowels III has the highest percentage on the team at 91.7 percent (22-of-24) but doesn't have enough attempts to qualify for the league leaders.

Handling Success

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 385 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 vs. BYU on Jan. 12. 

Foster scored 15 points at San Diego on Jan. 26 and then 10 points vs. Portland on Jan. 31, his 20th double-digit scoring game of the seasons. He has made at least one 3-point basket in 112 of his 119 career games played with five or more 3s in a game 28 times. 

For the second time this season, Foster was the WCC Player of the Week on Jan. 21 after he averaged 27.5 ppg, including 57.1 percent from beyond the arc (12 of 21).  Foster averaged 27.5 points per game in a pair of WCC road wins.  The Broncos won both road games at USF, winning 85-54, and 83-76 at Pepperdine. Foster averaged 27.5 ppg in 33 mpg, hitting six threes in both victories.  Foster shot 62.5 percent for the week (20 of 32), hitting 57.1 percent of his threes (12 of 21).  He also scored his first career double-double at USF with 27 points and 10 rebounds.  On the week he averaged 6 rpg, 3.0, apg and 2.5 spg.

Foster sits in 16th place on the NCAA Division I all-time threes made list with 385. He needs three to tie Baylor's LaceDarius Dunn and crack the top 15 and is 15 away from becoming the 11th player in Division I to make 400 career threes.

Foster's 133 made threes in WCC games is No. 4 all-time in league history. His three threes at BYU Feb. 2 broke two-time NBA MVP and former Bronco Steve Nash's school record.  Nash made 132 in his 56 league games and is No. 2 all-time for the Broncos with 263 threes, a record Foster eclipsed early his junior year.  Sitting at No. 3 on the WCC list is Gonzaga's Blake Stepp with 143 threes made in WCC games (2000-04).  LMU's Jeff Fryer holds the WCC record in league games with 166 threes made in 49 games (1987-90).

With 1,064 attempted, Foster is the SCU and WCC leader and he ranks No. 7 in NCAA Division I history. He needs 129 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 119 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 1064 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

    In SCU'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, leading the country, and grabbed the nation's top spot in threes made per game as well with 3.68.  

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.

Trasolini Named To Capital One Academic All-District Team For Third Straight Competition Season

Santa Clara senior Marc Trasolini was named Jan. 31 to the Capital One Academic All-District team, his third straight year of competition he has been named to the team.  Trasolini, a Senior CLASS nominee, graduated Cum Laude with a 3.62 GPA in Finance from the prestigious Leavey School of Business in March 2012.  Trasolini, who was granted a fifth year this year after tearing his ACL, is now in his fourth quarter of work on his MBA in the Leavey School of Business, which is ranked No. 19 nationally (MBA) and boasts a 3.56 GPA.  

Trasolini is a three-time Capital One Academic All-District First Team member - he was the only player from the West Coast Conference and Pac-10 Conference to receive this honor three straight competition seasons in 2013.

A captain of the team, Trasolini has been named to the WCC Commissioner's List All-Academic Silver List three times and the WCC Winter Academic List twice.  Trasolini was also named to the 2011 National Jesuit All-Academic Men's Basketball Team.  Additionally, Trasolini served as the Finance Intern for Strategic Planning at Sony Play Station in the Summer of 2011.

He is second on the team in points and leads the Broncos in rebounds and blocks.  The Broncos are 16-6 and 4-3 in the WCC this season.

Dishes

A 2013 Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award nominee, Evan Roquemore is one of the top assist men in the WCC. Roquemore has at least five assists in 20 of the teams 24 games and he ranks No. 2 in the WCC and No. 24 nationally with 6.0 per game while his 2.88 assist/turnover ratio is the best in the WCC and ranks No. 12 in the NCAA. He is also second on the team in minutes played with 757.

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, Kyle Bailey and Kevin Foster 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 144 assists for the season and is on pace to break John Woolery's 1993-94 single season school record of 190. With 441 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 12 to overtake Kyle Bailey (2001-05) for the fifth spot.

Bay Area Scorers

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 56 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 345 points.  Foster became SCU's career points leader, overtaking 1980 WCC Player of the Year Kurt Rambis, in a 74-62 win at St. Louis on Nov. 14.

Foster has reached double figures 21 times in 24 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 seventh 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 vs. Gonzaga on Jan. 5. He scored his 1,900th career point on a 3-point basket at Pacific on Dec. 15 and added career point No. 1,800 on a three-pointer against Utah State on Nov. 28.

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 174 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 2,146

4.Bill Cartwright USF 1976-79 2,116

Heating Up The Microwave

Kevin Foster was nicknamed 'Microwave' by his father Rick Foster 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 79 of 119 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)