Santa Clara travels to BYU (15-9, 7-4 WCC) on Thurs., Feb. 6 for an 8 pm game on ESPNU (Pacific time). Roxy Bernstein and Corey Williams will make the call. The game will also be broadcast live on KDOW 1220 AM and SantaClaraBroncos.com as part of the Bronco Radio Network. Anthony Passarelli is in his seventh season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer.
The Broncos are 10-14 and 3-8 WCC in the WCC. BYU is 15-9 and 7-4 in the WCC.
BYU is 10-1 at home this year, including 5-0 in league games. SCU freshman Jared Brownridge scored a career-high 30 points and Brandon Clark added 20, but BYU shot a season-best 61.5 percent from the field and defeated the Broncos for the ninth consecutive time, 91-81, in their first match-up this season on Jan. 18. Tyler Haws scored 16 in the Cougars victory.
SCU Last Week
Last week in its first game on Jan. 29, Santa Clara lost a heartbreaker vs. No. 24 Gonzaga. In front of a sold-out crowd at the Leavey Center. Down 10 with five minutes left, the Broncos rallied back to take a one-point lead on a floater by Brandon Clark with 28.6 seconds left after a huge three by Evan Roquemore at 1:23. But Gonzaga's Sam Dower hit a three from the top of the key with 1.9 seconds left to dash Santa Clara's upset hopes and give the Zags the 54-52 win. Roquemore led the Broncos with 15 points but he had no assists for just the second time in his career. It was the first game this season Clark and Jared Brownridge haven't scored a three between them as they were a combined 0-7 from beyond the arc.
On Feb. 1 vs. Portland the Broncos didn't have an answer for the inside duo of Ryan Nicholas (4 of 8 FG, 4-4 FT, 10 REB) and Thomas Van Der Mars (9 of 10 FG, 10-10 FT, 11 REB) and lost 76-64. WCC Newcomer of the Year candidate Jared Brownridge collected 20 points for the 11th time this season and Brandon Clark, despite shooting 1 of 11 from the field, added 11 points with an 8 of 8 performance at the free throw line. Jerry Brown scored 11 points off the bench and a team-high 7 boards.
BYU Last Week
BYU won both of its home games last week. It defeated Pacific 88-78 on Jan. 30 and then put away Saint Mary's 84-71 on Feb. 1. BYU is third in the country in scoring. The Cougars have scored 80+ points in 8 of 11 WCC games this season and 19 of 24 games overall.
Tyler Haws is this week's WCC Player of the Week. The junior guard averaged 35.5 ppg in wins vs. Pacific (88-78) and Saint Mary's (84-71) last week; and he has scored 33 or more in three of the last four games, including a career-best 48 at Portland. He leads the WCC in scoring this season and is No. 3 nationally. He is joined by four other Cougars who average double-figures in WCC games: Haws (26.1 ppg), Kyle Collinsworth (15.3 ppg), Eric Mika (11.3 ppg), Skyler Halford (11.0 ppg) and Matt Carlino (10.9 ppg).
All-Time
Santa Clara is 5-20 vs. BYU all-time and has lost nine straight games to the Cougars. The Broncos' last series win came on Dec. 2, 1972 when they defeated the No. 15 Cougars, 66-64, in Provo. The Broncos haven't beaten BYU on its home court in over 52 years. They posted wins on consecutive days in the first two meetings in Santa Clara, 64-53, on Dec. 8, 1961 and the next day with a 71-55 victory.
Leaders
Three Broncos average double figures: Brandon Clark, Jared Brownridge and Evan Roquemore. Both Clark and Brownridge collect 16.9 ppg and Roquemore adds 11.3 ppg. In WCC games, Brownridge is averaging 19.2 ppg, Clark adds 18.2 and Roquemore 11.2.
Clark is tied with 16.9 ppg and leads the team with 3.5 and 1.3 spg. If he finishes the season at the top of all three, he would be the first Bronco since Brandon Rohe in 2002-03 to do this (10.6 ppg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg). Clark highlights:
+ Clark scored zero points in the season opener vs. Bethesda, but has since scored double figures in 20 of the last 23 games. Clark has scored 20+ in seven of 11 WCC games this season.
+ Clark has scored more than 1/4 of his points at the free throw line this year, hitting 85.7 percent (102 of 119). He is on pace to jump into the top 10 in free throws made in a single season. The school record was set by Ken Sears in 1954-55 (197) and John Bryant is No. 10 with 144 made in 2008-09.
+ Clark will most likely be the next Bronco to reach 1,000 career points as he has 891. He would be the 31st Bronco with 1,000 plus points in his career and the seventh head coach Kerry Keating.
+ Clark has scored 20+ 12 times this year, including a career-high 32 points vs. N.D. State on Nov. 29. During a four-game span (Nov. 12-29), he scored 21+ points in each game; and he was the fourth Bronco player since 2007-08 to accomplish this feat. Scoring 30 points vs. Sacred Heart on Dec. 18, he was the 13th Bronco in school history to have multiple 30+ point games in a single season.
+ Clark scored a WCC career-high with 26 points vs. LMU on Jan. 4 (career high is 32 vs. North Dakota State on Nov. 29). Half of Clark's points vs. the Lions came at the free throw line, as the East Chicago, Ind. native went 13 of 14 from the free throw line.
Brownridge is the top scoring freshman in the WCC and will receive serious consideration for WCC Newcomer of the Year. He is averaging 19.5 ppg in WCC play which is No. 2 in the league and tops among the rookies. He has scored 20+ 11 times already this season, including six times in WCC play; and barely missed 20 vs. USD on Jan. 16 (19 points). Brownridge highlights:
+ Brownridge leads the Broncos in threes made (68) and attempted (156). Brownridge is shooting a team-high 43.6 percent beyond the arc. That would break the Bronco freshman record set by Steve Nash in 1993 if the season ended today (40.8 percent). The single season school record was set by Nash in 1994-95 (45.4 percent). His 68 threes are No. 2 on the Bronco freshman record list and No. 8 on the Bronco single season list, topping Steve Nash's total his sophomore year (67, 1993-94).
+ He scored a career-high 30 points vs. BYU on Jan. 18, adding four threes and hitting 8 of 8 free throws. He followed that performance up with 30 points at USF on Jan. 25, adding five threes and scoring 9 of 10 from the free throw line. He is just the third Bronco in school history to score 30+ points in back-to-back WCC games, joining Dennis Awtrey (1969) and Kurt Rambis (1980). He is the 17th Bronco in school history to have multiple 30+ point games and the 14th in school history to do it more than once in a single season.
Roquemore is third with 11.3 ppg and is second on the team with 3.4 apg. Roquemore highlights:
+ Already the school record holder for a single season with assists (2012-13), he is also the career school record for assists with 560. He is No. 9 all-time in the WCC, passing Gonzaga's John Stockton (554, 1980-84) vs. Portland on Feb. 1. He needs 14 assists to move past Portland's Darwin Cook (573, 1976-80)Without an assist vs. Gonzaga on Jan. 29, it is just the second time during his career that he hasn't picked up at least one assist in a game. The first was at Cal Poly on Dec. 7, 2013.
WCC Career Assist Leaders
AST YEARS
1. Orlando Smart, USF 902 1990-94
2. Terrell Lowery, LMU 689 1988-92
3. Matt Santangelo, GON 668 1997-00
4. Carl Ervin, SEA 659 1977-80
5. Blake Stepp, GON 640 2000-04
6. Keith Smith, LMU 594 1982-86
7. Jeremy Pargo, GON 589 2005-09
8. Darwin Cook, POR 573 1976-80
9. Evan Roquemore, SCU 560 2010-
10. John Stockton, GON 554 1980-84
+ He is just the third player in school history to collect 1,500+ points and 500+ assists. The other two: Brian Jones (1,722 points, 517 assists, 1996-01) and Steve Nash (1,689 points, 510 assists, 1992-96).
+ His 20 points and five threes were a season-high at Portland on Dec. 30.
Jerry Brown, a graduate transfer from Fresno State, leads the team with 5.8 rpg and is fourth with 7.8 ppg. Brown highlights:
+ He scored Santa Clara's lone double-double this year vs. SJSU (16 pts., 10 reb., Nov. 12, 2013).
+ Brown is working on a Master's in Communication as he redshirted his sophomore year at Fresno State.
+ He came off the bench the first four games, then started 12 straight. He has come off the bench seven of the last eight games, with his lone start vs. BYU on Jan. 18.
+ He has scored 716 career points with 492 rebounds, including 177 points and 134 rebounds with the Broncos.
Roquemore
Evan Roquemore enters the BYU game with 560 career assists, a Bronco school record. Roquemore broke the Bronco career assists record vs. Radford on Dec. 16 with a dandy dish to Jared Brownridge in the first half, topping Brian Jones (517, 1996-2001). Last year Roquemore set the single season assists record with 196, topping John Woolery (190, 1993-94).
Roquemore has collected an assist in 124 of 126 career games. He was credited with no assists in SCU's 64-53 loss at Cal Poly on Dec. 7 and again with zero assists vs. Gonzaga on Jan. 29. Looking back, Jones missed an assist in just three games (Dec. 21, 1996 at Pacific, Jan. 22, 1997 at USF; and March 4, 2000 vs. USF). Jones only had one game his final three years without an assist (USF, 2000). Steve Nash had eight games his freshman year with no assists, but the final three years of his career he had at least one assist in every game he played in during his Bronco career.
With 455 career FT made, he needs to make 16 to break the school record set by Ken Sears (470, 1951-55). The career minutes played record was set last year by Kevin Foster (4,212) and entering the Cougars game, he is No. 2 in minutes played (4,035). He has started in 106 career games (T-6) and played in 126 games (No. 7).
The team's lone 1,000+ career point scorer, Roquemore missed the first four games with a back injury. Roquemore sits at No. 12 with 1,536 career points. He needs 36 points to pass No. 11 Kyle Bailey (1,571, 2001-05) and with 51 points he will pass No. 10 Ken Sears (1,586 points, 1951-55).
Last year's Bronco team was the first team in WCC history to feature four 1,000 point career scorers. Along with Roquemore, the team had Foster (No. 1, 2,423 points), Trasolini (No. 5, 1,699 points) and Cowels III (No. 26, 1,090 points).
Three, Turnovers
Jared Brownridge is No. 17 nationally with 68 threes made this season. Brownridge (68) and Clark (42) have combined for the most three-pointers made by any teammates in the West Coast Conference with 110. Kevin Pangos (61) and Drew Barham (43) from Gonzaga are second with 104.
Nationally, Brownridge is the top freshman in the country with a 43.6 percentage beyond the arc, good enough for No. 25. Brownridge is No. 2 in the WCC in overall and league games with 2.8 threes per game. Clark and Brownridge are 5-6 in overall games in the league and 4-2 in WCC games, respectively. The Broncos are tops in the overall games in turnover margin at +2.2 and are No. 2 with 7.4 threes made per game. Nationally, Santa Clara is No. 11 with 9.9 turnovers per game.
30 for 30
Jared Brownridge scored 30 points in back-to-back WCC games vs. BYU on Jan. 18 and at USF on Jan. 25. Only three Bronco player have had back-to-back 30+ point games: Dennis Awtrey (March 1 and 7, 1969); Kurt Rambis (Jan. 4 and 5, 1980) and Kevin Foster (March 25 and 27, 2013). Awtrey and Rambis both scored 30+ in back-to-back WCC games as did Brownridge and Foster's came in SCU's CBI title run at Purdue and Wright State.
Brownridge and Brandon Clark are just the second set of Bronco teammates to have multiple 30 point games in the same season. The only other set of SCU teammates to accomplish this: Rambis and Londale Theus did in the 1979-80 season. Theus scored 30+ twice that season (Jan. 25, 1980 and March 2, 1980) and Rambis scored 30+ three times (Jan. 4, 1980, Jan. 5, 1980 and Jan. 25, 1980).
Got a Minute?
Santa Clara is the only team with three players in the top 10 in minutes played per game in league games. Brandon Clark is No. 2 at 36.2, Jared Brownridge is No. 5 at 35.4 and Evan Roquemore is No. 9 at 33.0.
20+ Club
Prior to this year, Brandon Clark hadn't scored 20+ points in a college or high school game since he scored 29 in an AAU game in eighth grade. Clark has scored 20+ 12 times this season, including 20+ in seven of the 11 WCC games this year. His 12 20+ games are sixth-most since 2000-01. Tops on the list since 2000-01 - Kevin Foster scored 20+ 20 times in 2012-13.
Jared Brownridge has scored 20+ points 11 times already this year - second-best for a Bronco freshman since 1990-91. Kevin Foster scored 20+ points 11 times his freshman season Brownridge has led the Broncos in scoring 11 times this year and has scored double-digits in 18 games.
With two 30+ point games this season already, Brownridge and Clark are just the second set of teammates to have multiple 30 point games in the same season. The only other set of Bronco teammates to accomplish this: Rambis and Londale Theus did in the 1979-80 season. Theus scored 30+ twice that season (Jan. 25, 1980 and March 2, 1980) and Rambis scored 30+ three times (Jan. 4, 1980, Jan. 5, 1980 and Jan. 25, 1980).
MOST 20+ PT GAMES, SEASON
(SINCE '00-'01)
1. 20 Kevin Foster ('12-'13)
2. 16 Kevin Foster ('10-'11)
3. 13 John Bryant ('08-'09)
13 John Bryant ('07-'08)
13 Travis Niesen ('05-'06)
6. 12 Brandon Clark ('13-'14)
7. 11 Jared Brownridge ('13-'14)
11 Marc Trasolini ('12-'13)
11 Kevin Foster ('08-'09)
10. 10 Doron Perkins ('04-'05)
Brownridge
Jared Brownridge scored 20 points vs. Portland with a couple threes, but didn't collect a three vs. Gonzaga on Jan. 29 when he scored six points, snapping a streak of three straight games with 19+ points. He has scored single digits just twice in WCC play this season (7 at Pacific, 6 vs. Gonzaga). He has a three in every game this year with the exception of Gonzaga on Jan. 29 (0-1) and Sacred Heart on Dec. 18 (0 for 3).
If the season finished today, Brownridge would break the freshman school records for points per game, three point field goal percentage and free throw percentage. Those records belong to Kurt Rambis and Nash.
Brownridge collected seven three pointers on a night where he shot 8 of 15 from the field with a game-high seven assists in the win vs. La Sierra on Dec. 14. The seven threes by Brownridge broke the Bronco freshman record set by Nash back in 1993 (6 vs. CS Stanislaus, 1-5-93). Brandon Rohe (6, vs. Mississippi State Valley, 12-27-02) and Calvin Johnson (6, vs. Cal Poly, 12-10-05) later matched it. It is the most threes hit by a Bronco since WCC record holder Foster scored nine vs. Air Force on March 18, 2011.
Brownridge has started all 24 games this season and he has scored 18+ points in 13 games thus far, including 14 games with 3+ threes made and 18 double-figure games. Much of his scoring has been beyond the arc as Brownridge has collected 5+ threes four times. Foster accomplished this feat three times in his 33-game rookie season (5 vs. Arizona, Nov. 25, 2008; at Saint Mary's, Jan. 9, 2009; and at LMU, Feb. 14, 2009). All told, Foster scored seven threes twice, eight threes twice and nine threes once (the school record for a single game).
In the final non-conference game vs. South Florida on Dec. 23, Santa Clara went on a 13-3 run as Brownridge hit a three with 53.8 seconds left to give SCU a one-point lead and then iced it with a pair of free throws with 10.8 ticks left to lead the Broncos to a 66-65 victory. He also scored eight straight Bronco points late in the second half of the Portland win on Dec. 30 to help seal the victory and scored the game-winning three with 1.2 seconds left on the clock at Saint Mary's on Jan. 9. He added a career-high 30 points vs. BYU on Jan. 18 and hit 30 again at USF on Jan. 25.
In his first three collegiate basketball games, Brownridge was in elite company at SCU. Only three players since the 1999-2000 season have scored more points in the first three games of the season and Brownridge is the only first-year player among them. In his junior year John Bryant collected 75 points in three games at the outset of the 2007-08 season and Travis Niesen tallied 68 points during the first three games of his 2005-06 senior campaign. Foster went for 65 in the first three games last season. Foster also scored 62 points in 2009 but it took him four team games after he missed the third contest of the season.
Bronco Freshman Records Chase
Scoring Average
Jared Brownridge (2013-14) 16.9
1. Kurt Rambis (1976-77) 5.3
Three-Point FG Pct. (Minimum 20 made)
Jared Brownridge (2013-14) .436
1. Steve Nash (1992-93) 408
Free Throw Percentage (Minimum 30 made)
Jared Brownridge (2013-14) 849
1. Steve Nash (1992-93) 825
Hard For Us Too ...
The Broncos team this year features six players whose first name starts with a "J". The six are: John (McArthur), Julian (Clarke), Jerry (Brown), Jared (Brownridge), Jarvis (Pugh) and Jalen (Richard). The Broncos also have two Clarke/Clark's: Julian Clarke and Brandon Clark. They also have a Brown (Jerry) and a Brownridge (Jared).
The Bronco roster showcases four players from California. They also have one player each from the following states: Minnesota, Texas, Indiana, Arizona, Colorado and Illinois. SCU also feature players from Canada (Julian Clarke), Cameroon (Yannick Atanga) and Nigeria (Emmanuel Ndumanya).