Putting four scorers in double figures for the second straight game wasn't enough as Santa Clara battled to the end, but fell 80-67 to No. 23 Saint Mary's. Santa Clara is 21-10 and finish fourth in the WCC at 9-7. Saint Mary's is 26-5 and 14-2 (already captured second).
"I am proud of our guys efforts tonight. They came out and battled in a tough environment, especially on senior night," said Bronco head coach Kerry Keating. "Had a couple of possessions gone a little different on both ends - it's a different ball game. But that's the nature of high-level basketball. Players have to make plays."
Keating said the Bronco team was excited to be heading to Las Vegas next weekend for the WCC Tournament. "We are excited to be heading to Vegas in a bye position. We know every game will be a battle. We have put ourselves in a great position to take advantage of this experience."
Santa Clara shot 42.1 percent from the field (22 of 56), including 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (5 of 12). The Broncos shot 75.0 percent from the free throw line (18 of 24). They collected 32 rebounds, nine assists, five steals, two blocks and had 10 turnovers.
Marc Trasolini scored 21 point and collected eight rebounds. Kevin Foster had 14 including three threes, two assists and five turnovers. Evan Roquemore scored 11 with five assists and Brandon Clark added 10 off the bench. Yannick Atanga had five rebounds and two blocks. Raymond Cowels III collected six rebounds and four points.
Saint Mary's shot 42.1 percent from the field (24 of 57), including 25.0 percent from beyond the arc (5 of 20). The Gaels shot 81.8 percent from the free throw line (27 of 33). They collected 43 rebounds, 11 assists, six steals, two blocks and had eight turnovers.
Matthew Dellavedova scored 21 points, including 11 of 11 from the free throw line and six assists. Brad Waldow led the Gaels with nine rebounds.
Foster broke the school record for field goals made with the three at 18:57 (held by Londale Theus, 712 FG made, 1976-80). Page answered from inside as did Trasolini. Dellavedova scored inside at 18:09. Trasolini dumped in Foster's miss at 17:35 and he scored again at 16:50 to put SCU up 9-4.
Young scored inside at 16:21. Waldow scored a bucket at 15:35 and Trasolini answered again, this time from 10 feet out, for two at 15:17. Jorden Page scored inside to pull SMC within on at 14:01 and Waldow tipped it in at 13:24 to give the Gaels their first lead at 13:21. Cowels III took it back with a bucket under the basket at 13:05. John McArthur put in Julian Clarke's miss at 12:31 to make it 15-12 Broncos.
B. Clark scored a couple free throws at 12:13. Giusti hit a three at 10:59 and B. Clark answered with his own triple at 10:37. Young scored two inside buckets in the next couple of minutes.
Trasolini crushed a three for his 11th point of the game at 7:54 to put SCU up 23-19. Page answered with his own three, 23-22 Broncos, at 7:38. Holt tied it up 23-23 with his first three throw at 7:00 but missed the second. Young scored inside again at 6:20 to give SMC a 25-23 lead. Roquemore's basket at 6:11 tied it up again. Young scored his 10th point of the game inside no time left on the shot clock at 5:27.
Atanga hit a pair of free throws at 4:53. Dellavedova scored a 10-footer at 3:53 to become the new all-time leading scorer at Saint Mary's. Trasolini's two free throws at 3:28 tied it up again, 29 even. After a Dellavedova bucket, Giusti fouled Foster and he scored a free throw at 3:01. Niyi Harrison's bucket at 1:59 gave the Broncos a 32-31 lead.
Holt's two free throws at 1:30 put SMC up one, 33-32. Foster was fouled shooting a three, Giusti's third, and he sank with 45 seconds left in the first half. He sank all three to put SCU up two, but Beau Levesque sank a three to put SMC up one – 36-35 – the score at halftime.
In the first half Santa Clara shot 42.3 percent from the field (11 of 26), including 42.9 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 7). The Broncos shot 90.9 percent from the free throw line (10-11). They collected 15 rebounds, seven assists, three steals, one block and had five turnovers. Trasolini led the team with 13 points, shooting 5 of 8. Foster scored seven, including 4 of 5 from the free throw line. Atanga had four rebounds.
Saint Mary's shot 46.9 percent from the field (15 of 32), including 30.0 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 10). The Gaels shot 50.0 percent from the free throw line (3 of 6). They collected 20 rebounds, five assists, three steals, no blocks and had six turnovers. Young led SMC with 10 points, Dellavedova had six and Page had seven.
Cowels III struck first at 19:44 in the second half to put SCU up 37-36. Saint Mary's 6-0 run over 1:42 made it 42-37 Gaels. Trasolini scored an and one to pull SCU within two at 17:19, 42-40 Gaels. The Gaels added three and Roquemore answered at 15:47 to make it 45-42 Gaels. Harrison was fouled on back-to-back possessions and sank one, 45-43 Gaels.
Foster's 10th point of the night, a three, pulled SCU within two, 48-46 at 14:00. Holt sank a pair of free throws at 13:47. Roquemore's pull up jumper pulled SCU within two again, 50-48 at 11:59. SMC scored five straight to go up 55-48 at 10:24.
A bucket by Levesque was sandwiched between a free throw by Roquemore and bucket by B. Clark. Trasolini scored an and one to pull SCU back within one, 57-56 Gaels at 8:09. Levesque missed the front end of a 1 and 1 and Trasolini was fouled. He stepped to the line and sank both to put SCU up one, 58-57 at 7:41.
Dellavedova scored a pair of the charity stripe at 7:19 to put SMC up one. Holt scored from eight feet out at 6:31. B. Clark sank one free throw at 5:57, 61-59 Gaels. Trasolini's fourth foul on Dellavedova resulted in two free throws made, 63-59 SMC at 4:41.
Foster crushed a three at 4:08 to pull SCU within one, 63-62. Saint Mary's made 11 of 13 free throws to close out the game. Roquemore added a bucket with 1:00 left on the clock and Foster scored a free throw. Hodgson's dunk made the lead 10 points with 11.8 seconds left, 77-67. Saint Mary's had Tim Williams hit a three with less than a second left to make it an 80-67 final.
Game Notes
It was the two teams 214th career meeting. The two school's first game was played on Feb. 19, 1910.
Kevin Foster moved to No. 9 all-time in NCAA Division I history at 18:57 in the first half with his 402nd career three, passing Doug Day of Radford, who finished in 1993 with 401 threes.
Kevin Foster started his 118th career game after setting the school record vs. LMU on Feb. 28.
Marc Trasolini and Raymond Cowels III played in their 130th career game, having broken the school record for career games played vs. LMU on Feb. 28.