UPDATE: Santa Clara will play LMU at 6 pm (PST) on Friday night as part of two West Coast Conference Tournament Quarterfinal games. The game will be broadcast live on www.SantaClaraBroncos.com and not on the radio (KLIV or KDOW) this evening.
After their most successful regular season in almost 20 years, the Broncos (21-10, 9-7) head to Las Vegas as the No. 4 seed and will play a quarterfinal round WCC Tournament game on Friday, March 8 at 6 p.m. (PST). Santa Clara will play its 50th WCC Tournament game in school history and will face LMU. The quarterfinal game will be televised nationally on ESPNU with Dave Flemming and Sean Farnham making the call. The game will also be broadcast live on www.SantaClaraBroncos.com. Anthony Passarelli is in his sixth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer.
Santa Clara had a nine-game improvement in conference play, going from 0-16 last year to 9-7, the second-best single-season turnaround in WCC history. The Broncos fell one victory shy of tying the all-time league mark, established in 1988 by LMU. They reached 21 victories for just the 13th time in school history and their win total matches the second-highest recorded over the last 29 seasons, behind only the 2010-11 squad that posted 24 wins.
Santa Clara lost 80-67 at Saint Mary's on March 2 in the final regular season game, despite a game-high tying 21 points from Marc Trasolini, who increased his career total to exactly 1,600. Kevin Foster made his third three-pointer of the game with 4:08 left to pull the Broncos within 63-62, but the Gaels went on a 9-0 run, all on free throws, to build a 10-point lead with under a minute remaining. Foster scored 14 points, Evan Roquemore added 11 and five assists, and Brandon Clark had 10 off the bench. The game was tied 10 times and neither team led by more than seven points until the Gaels' late run.
Friday night's winner will advance to play No. 1 Gonzaga on Sat., March 9 at 6 p.m. The championship game will take place on Mon., March 11 at 6 p.m. (PST). The Broncos have never lost their first game of the WCC Tournament when entering as the No. 4 seed going 5-0 all-time. SCU entered the 2011 tournament as the No. 4 seed and beat LMU, 76-68. The Broncos have not been higher than a No. 4 seed since 2007, when they were No. 2 and lost the championship game to No. 1 seed Gonzaga, 77-68. Since the conference tournament was adopted in 1987, only one No. 4 seed has ever won the title. Gonzaga defeated No. 2 Portland, 80-67, in the 1995 championship game when the tournament was held at Santa Clara. The lowest seed to ever win the tournament was a No. 5, which happened three times with three different schools. Santa Clara won the 1987 title beating No. 7 Pepperdine, Portland beat No. 2 Gonzaga, 76-68, in 1996 and USF upset No. 1 Gonzaga, 80-67, in 1998. No. 7 Pepperdine in 1987 was the lowest-seeded team to ever play in the title game. The top two seeds have appeared in the championship game 10 times in the last 11 years.
Broncos and the WCC Tournament
The Broncos will be playing their 50th WCC Tournament game when they tip off Friday. They are 25-24 all-time after losing, 74-70, in the first round last year to Portland. SCU has entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed five previous times and is unbeaten in opening-game play. The Broncos defeated No. 8 LMU, 76-68, in 2011; No. 5 San Diego, 80-69, in 2009; No. 5 USF, 51-50, in 2008; No. 5 USF, 63-48, in 2000 and No. 5 LMU, 77-64, in 1999.
Santa Clara won the inaugural WCC Tournament, beating Pepperdine, 77-65, on March 7, 1987, and appeared in the first three championship games. The Broncos won their second, and last, tournament title in 1993 beating No. 1 seed Pepperdine, 73-63. They have played in three title games since then, losing each time to top-seed Gonzaga (1999, 2001, 2007). SCU has beaten USF and Saint Mary's six times in tournament games, the most wins over any opponent. The Broncos are 3-4 vs. LMU; 3-2 vs. Portland and 6-2 vs. USF in tournament play.
Welcome Back To Sin City
Santa Clara's top two scorers will return to the WCC Tournament after missing the festivities last year. Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster both missed the 2012 tournament and will be looking to make up for lost time. In 2011 the duo led the Broncos to their last tournament victory, a 76-68 quarterfinal win over LMU on March 5. Trasolini scored 22 points and Foster added 18. The two put up the exact same numbers the next night in a 73-64 semifinal loss to No. 1 seed Saint Mary's. Trasolini's five tournament games are the most of any current Bronco and he's a career 59.6 percent (28-of-47) field goal shooter and 82.4 percent (14-of-17) free throw shooter in those games. Foster has totaled 74 points in four career tournament games (18.5 ppg) and has scored at least 17 in every one. He's made 14-of-38 3-point shots (36.8%) in his tournament career averaging 3.5 per game.
Foster And Trasolini Collect WCC Honors
With six West Coast Conference honors between them in their careers, Santa Clara's fifth-year seniors Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster were both named to the All-West Coast Conference Team Tuesday. The Bronco are one of just three teams in the WCC to be represented by multiple players on the First Team.
"We are really excited for both and proud of them for returning from separate adversities to lead this team to yet another 20 plus win season," said Bronco head coach Kerry Keating. "This honor is well-deserved and hard-earned. They are both on their way to becoming all-time Bronco greats!"
Foster, the 2009 WCC Newcomer of the Year, is making his second All-WCC team in his career after being named to Honorable Mention his freshman year. Foster became SCU's all-time scoring leader, surpassing 1980 WCC Player of the Year and former NBA star Kurt Rambis, in a win at St. Louis on Nov. 14 and became the third player in WCC history to score 2,200 career points with 20 at Portland Feb. 23. Not even ranked in the top 25 career scorers in WCC history when the season began, Foster sits at No. 2 after passing LMU's Terrell Lowery, who scored 2,201 from 1988-92. Foster has 26 double-digit scoring games this season and 108 in his 126 game career. He owns seven Bronco career school records: points, field goals made, field goals attempted, three pointers made, three pointers attempted, games started and minutes played.
All of Foster's scoring exploits have been chronicled, but he may well go down as one of the greatest all-around players to ever compete in the WCC. One of just three players to score over 2,200 career points, Foster leads the WCC this season in steals and is No. 5 in assists. Through his career Foster has amassed 2,242 points (second best in WCC history), 438 assists and 216 steals joining LMU's Terrell Lowery as the only players in WCC history to accumulate more than 2,000 points, 400 assists and 200 steals (Lowery recorded 2,201 points, 689 assists and 231 steals). He has made 404 threes in his career which shatters the WCC record and is No. 9 all-time in NCAA Division I history.
Trasolini was named to the Honorable Mention team in 2010 and the 2009 All-WCC Freshman team. Trasolini became the 11th Bronco to score 1,500 career points when he tallied 13 vs. Saint Mary's on Feb. 7. He broke into the top 10 surpassing Kyle Bailey, who scored 1,571 (2001-05) when he dropped in a game-high 26 in a win over LMU on Feb. 28. With 21 points at Saint Mary's on March 2, Trasolini needs became the ninth player in school history 1,600. He needs 90 more points to jump into the top 5 and pass Steve Nash (1,689, 1992-96). He joins former Broncos John Bryant, Dennis Awtrey and Kurt Rambis as the only four to have collected 1600+ points and 800+ rebounds in their careers.
This year Trasolini has collected a bevy of honors off the court already. He has been named a Senior CLASS Finalist (vote for Marc!www.SeniorCLASSAward.com/vote) with voting running through March 25. He was named to the national Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American Third Team in Feb. and last week he was named to the All-WCC Academic First Team. He is the school's first national basketball Academic All-American since 1996. He graduated cum laude in March of 2012 with a degree in Finance with a 3.65 grade point average and is his fourth quarter of his MBA in the prestigious Leavey School of Business.
Trasolini and Raymond Cowels III each have played in 130 career games and own the school record in that category, surpassing Ben Dowdell, who participated in 128 games from 2007-11.
School Records
Marc Trasolini (101), Raymond Cowels III (81) and Kevin Foster (118) have started all 31 games for SCU this season and have combined for 301 starts in their Santa Clara careers. Evan Roquemore has started 29 of 31 games and has 84 career starts under his belt. The remaining nine players on the roster have a total of 126 career starts with Niyi Harrison leading the group with 45.
Among all his other accomplishments Foster became the all-time leader in games started when he took the court for the 117th time in SCU's win over LMU on Feb. 28. He broke a tie with Brian Jones, who started 116 games from 1996-01. At Saint Mary's he broke the school record for field goals made, topping Londale Theus who held the record since 1980 (Foster has 715, Theus had 712 from 1976-80). Trasolini and Cowels III each have played in 130 career games and own the school record in that category, surpassing Ben Dowdell, who participated in 128 games from 2007-11.
Foster may well go down as one of the greatest all-around players to ever compete in the WCC. One of just three players to score over 2,200 career points, Foster leads the WCC this year in steals and is No. 5 in assists. Foster has collected 2,228 points (second best in WCC history), 436 assists and 216 steals joining LMU's Terrell Lowery as the only players in WCC history to accumulate more than 2,000 points, 400 assists and 200 steals (Lowery recorded 2,201 points, 689 assists and 231 steals).
Foursome
There have been 31 players in the history of SCU basketball to score 1,000 career points and four of them are on the current roster. SCU was the first Division I school with three 1,000 point scorers on its roster on Dec. 15, 2012 when Evan Roquemore scored his 1,000th career point; and Santa Clara was the third school in Division I this season to have four active 1,000 career point scorers after Raymond Cowels III joined the club in the win over Pepperdine on Feb. 16.
Santa Clara is the first team in West Coast Conference history to have four 1,000 point career scorers in the same season. There are now three other teams nationally with a quartet of 1,000 point scorers: N.C. State accomplished the feat on Jan. 22, 2013 vs. Wake Forest, Davidson matched them on Feb. 9, 2013 vs. App. State and No. 1 Indiana accomplished this as well a few nights after Santa Clara on Tues., Feb. 19 vs. Michigan State.
Three of the four 1,000-point scorers are averaging double figures with Kevin Foster at 17.8 ppg (2,242 career points), Marc Trasolini at 15.7 ppg (1,600) and Evan Roquemore at 11.9 ppg (1,230). Raymond Cowels III averages 9.8 ppg and has 1,037 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.
Foster became SCU's all-time scoring leader, surpassing 1980 WCC Player of the Year and former NBA star Kurt Rambis, in a win at St. Louis on Nov. 14 and became the third player in WCC history to score 2,200 career points with 20 at Portland Feb. 23. Not even ranked in the top 25 career scorers in WCC history when the season began, Foster sits at No. 2 after passing LMU's Terrell Lowery, who scored 2,201 from 1988-92. Foster has 26 double-digit scoring games this season and 108 in his 126 game career.
Marc Trasolini became the 11th Bronco to score 1,500 career points when he tallied 13 vs. Saint Mary's on Feb. 7. He broke into the top 10 surpassing Kyle Bailey, who scored 1,571 (2001-05) when he dropped in a game-high 26 in a win over LMU on Feb. 28. With 21 points at Saint Mary's on March 2, Trasolini became the ninth player in school history with 1,600. He needs 90 more points to jump into the top 5 and pass Steve Nash (1,689, 1992-96). He joins former Broncos John Bryant, Dennis Awtrey and Kurt Rambis as the only four to have collected 1600+ points and 800+ rebounds in their SCU careers.
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 scored career point No. 1,200 at Gonzaga on Feb. 20 and currently sits at No. 23 with 1,230. Roquemore needs 29 points to pass Mitch Burley (1,258, 1985-89) for No. 20 all-time.
Raymond Cowels III has played in all but one game during his four-year career (family funeral) and has started 61 straight times since the beginning of the 2011-12 season. He became the fourth member of the current roster to score 1,000 career points and the 31st in school history when he scored eight on Feb. 16 vs. Pepperdine. He scored his 1,000th point on a three-point basket vs. the Waves. RCIII now has 1,037 career points and is sitting at No. 28 all-time. He needs 84 points to pass Scott Lamson (1,120, 1981-85) and break into the top 25 all-time.
High Cotton
The Broncos won their 21st game of the season by beating LMU, 79-56, on Feb. 28, posting that many victories in a regular season for the first time since 1994-95 and reaching that total for just the 13th time in school history. The victory total matches the second-highest recorded over the last 29 seasons, behind only the 2010-11 squad that posted 24 wins under Kerry Keating.
After going winless (0-16) in the WCC in 2012, SCU enjoyed one of the greatest turnarounds in league history in 2013. Santa Clara's 9-game improvement ties for the second-best in WCC history, matching the 2012 LMU team. The Lions went 11-5 that year after a 2-12 mark in 2011. SCU fell a win short of equaling the WCC record, held by the 1988 LMU squad, which went 10-4 that year after a winless league slate in 1987.
Playing together for three full seasons, fifth-year seniors Marc Trasolini and Kevin Foster have combined for 61 victories. Add in the four wins from Foster's sophomore year before he broke his foot in the win at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 1, 2009 and the duo has won 65 games together during their time on the court (Foster played in six games in 2009-10 before being redshirted due to a broken foot that ended his season and Trasolini was redshirted due to a pre-season torn ACL in 2011-12).
Foster and Trasolini have scored 1,039 points between them this season, good for No. 7 on the top scoring tandems list. They became the eighth Bronco twosome to score 1,000 total points in a season on Feb. 28. The duo already holds the school record with 1,238 points scored between them in 2010-11 (Foster, 766 and Trasolini, 472).
Trasolini's 242 rebounds combined with Yannick Atanga's 196 put the duo at No. 18 on the top rebounding tandem list with 437 boards between them. Trasolini is already on the list at No. 3 with John Bryant in 2008-09 (610) and with Troy Payne in 2010-11 at No. 14 (451).
Present vs. Past
As expected with four players scoring 10+ points per game in West Coast Conference play, they are moving up the Bronco single season records list. Kevin Foster has already jumped up to No. 11 on the scoring list with his 551 points. Foster is No. 4 in field goal attempts, No. 2 in threes made, No. 2 in threes attempted and he is tied at No. 3 in steals. Marc Trasolini is tied for No. 6 in blocked shots. Raymond Cowels III is tied for No. 8 for threes made and tied for No. 2 in free throw percentage. Evan Roquemore is No. 3 in assists.
The Broncos 21 wins are tied for No. 6 on the all-time wins list for a single season. The Broncos are No. 2 in threes made, threes attempted, steals and blocks, No. 4 in total points scored, No. 5 in three point percentage and assists, No. 7 in free throw percentage, No. 9 in scoring margin and No. 10 in field goals attempted and tied for No. 10 in fewest foul-outs.
This Year
Santa Clara is 18-2 this season when leading at halftime and has won its last seven games when holding an advantage at the break. SCU has outscored the opposition 1,118 to 934 (+184) during the first 20 minutes … SCU's nine WCC wins are its most under head coach Kerry Keating and the most since winning 10 league games in 2007 … The Broncos have their highest regular-season win total since 1994-95 and their 21 wins equal the 2006-07 and 1994-95 teams for the second-most in school history over the last 29 seasons. SCU won 24 games during the 2010-11 season under head coach Kerry Keating … The Broncos are 9-4 in their last 13 games losing all to three 20-win teams; No. 1 Gonzaga (29-2), No. 23 Saint Mary's (26-5) and BYU (21-10). The three have a combined .817 winning percentage (76-17) … SCU has held opponents to fewer than 20 first half points five times … The Broncos have nine wins by at least 20 points and four wins by at least 30 points … SCU leads the WCC in blocked shots with 148 and has three of the top 7 shot blockers in the league. Marc Trasolini is No. 2 with 49, Robert Garrett is No. 3 with 41 and Yannick Atanga is No. 7 with 29. The three have combined for 119 of the team's total, which is the second-most in a single-season in school history, behind the 156 amassed during the 2008-09 season … The Broncos boast two players among the top five in the WCC in assists with Evan Roquemore at No. 4 and Kevin Foster at No. 5. Roquemore averages 5.35 per game (166 total) and Foster dishes out 4.48 per game (139). The two have combined for 305 assists, which averages out to 9.84 per game … Santa Clara swept four series during WCC action (Portland, USF, USD, Pepperdine), the most since getting four during the 2007 conference season … SCU has three winning streaks of five or more games this season … Santa Clara's point total in its 85-42 loss at Gonzaga on Feb. 20 is its lowest since a 70-40 loss to Saint Mary's on Feb. 21, 2004. SCU's margin of defeat (43) was also greater than its point total … 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 in six of his last nine games and 10 times total this season … Kevin Foster is the only SCU player to attempt more than 200 three-point shots in a season. He's done it for a third time this season with 261 … Santa Clara has scored over 60 points in all but one game this season and their total of 2,298 points is the fourth-most in school history. SCU totaled 2,308 in 2004-05 and 2,428 in 1969-70. The school record is 2,810 in 2010-11 … The Broncos have the same free throw shooting percentage as their opponents this season (.723).
Well-Rounded
Marc Trasolini, named to the 2013 West Coast Conference Basketball All-Academic Team on March 1, is one of the 10 finalist's for the Senior CLASS Award nationally. The men's Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2013 NCAA Final Four. Bronco fans are encouraged to vote for Trasolini every day at the following website through March 25 - www.seniorclassaward.com/vote.
To be eligible for the award, the senior must have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in October.
Trasolini became the fourth player in school history to be named to the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American list on Feb. 19 when he was named third team nationally. He is the only player in the WCC and Pac 12 to be named to the CoSIDA All-District Academic All-American list three straight competition years this Feb. (2010, '11, '13). Trasolini is in his fourth quarter of MBA work and graduated cum laude in March 2012 with a degree in Finance (3.65 GPA).
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."
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 82 of 126 career games and he has scored 19+ in 58 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)
57. vs. Pepperdine (Feb. 16, 2013) 22 (5)
58. at Portland (Feb. 23, 2013) 20 (4)
Climbing the Three-Point Ladder
Kevin Foster is the WCC's career leader with 404 after breaking a tie with LMU's Jeff Fryer vs. BYU on Jan. 12. Foster hit his record 364th career three knocking down a shot from the corner with 10:44 left in the first half vs. the Cougars. Foster is No. 9 on the NCAA Division I all-time threes made list. He needs to hit 11 more threes to move to No. 5 and pass Davidson's Stephen Curry (now starring with the Warriors) who made 414 career threes from 2007-09.
Foster's 152 made threes in WCC games is No. 3 all-time in league history as he passed Gonzaga's Blake Stepp with 143 threes made in WCC games (2000-04) at Portland on Feb. 23 when he made four. LMU's Jeff Fryer holds the WCC record in league-only games with 166 threes made in 49 games (1987-90) and Portland's Jared Stohl is No. 2 with 160 career WCC threes (2007-11). Foster's three threes at BYU Feb. 2 broke two-time NBA MVP and former Bronco Steve Nash's school record for career WCC threes. 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.
With 1,110 attempted, Foster is the SCU and WCC leader and he is No. 6 in NCAA Division I history. He needs 83 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 11 times this season and 55 times in his 126 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. Kevin Foster 1110 2009 2013 Santa Clara
Foster was the WCC Player of the Week on Jan. 21 for the second time this season after he averaged 27.5 ppg, including 57.1 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-21), in a pair of road wins at USF, winning 85-54, and 83-76 at Pepperdine. Foster averaged 33 minutes per game hitting six threes in both victories. He also shot 62.5 percent for the week (20-of-32) and recorded his first career double-double with 27 points and 10 rebounds at USF. On the week he averaged 6.0 rpg, 3.0, apg and 2.5 spg.
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.
He has scored 551 points this season, which is currently No. 11 on the all-time Bronco single season list, and he needs to score eight points to move into the top 10 (passing John Bryant, 558, 2007-08). 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.
Windex
There's something about the Pilots. Tying a career-high with 13 rebounds vs. Portland on Jan. 31, Yannick Atanga proved that feat was no fluke when he yanked down a personal-best 16 rebounds at Portland on Feb. 23. It was the most rebounds for a Bronco since 2009 WCC Player of the Year John Bryant collected 27 boards on March 7, 2009 in an 80-69 win vs. San Diego in the WCC Tournament. Atanga has been efficient on the glass in conference-only games hauling down 127 of his 195 rebounds against WCC foes. He led the conference in rebounding (7.9) and offensive rebounds (3.3) in league-only games.
Over the final 10 games of the regular season Atanga has been a force in the middle. He recorded a season-high and career-high tying four blocked shots in the win over Pepperdine on Feb. 16 and has multiple blocks seven times totaling 18 swats. He's been working the boards as well during the 10-game stretch totaling 85 caroms (8.5 rpg). Through his first 21 games he totaled 11 blocks and had just three multiple-block games. Atanga has 29 blocked shots for the season placing him third on the team and seventh in the WCC.
One of the Bay's Best-Ever
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, who has scored 2,242 career points, passed Terrell Lowery for the No. 2 spot on the WCC chart (2,201 points from 1988-92) with a game-high 20 at Portland on Feb. 23. Foster would need to score 249 points to take over the No. 1 spot from LMU's Hank Gathers, who scored 2,490 points from 1987-90. 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, 2012.
Foster has reached double figures 26 times in 31 games this season, has topped the 20-point mark 14 times, and scored at least 30 in a game twice to lead the Broncos in scoring. 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. 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 78 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 2,242
4. Bill Cartwright USF 1976-79 2,116