SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Senior guard Nate Engesser scored a game-high 18 points and the Denver Pioneers took advantage of a cold-shooting game for the Santa Clara men's basketball team to prevail 55-33 Saturday during day two action in the 49th Annual Cable Car Classic.

The Broncos (0-2) cut an early second half 10-point deficit to 34-29 with 11:20 left in the game, but Engesser nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead into double digits and Santa Clara never got closer. The senior guard connected on 6 of his 10 three-pointers and did not attempt a two-point field goal. He was the only player in the game to reach double figures.

Santa Clara hit just 22.9 percent from the field, including 4 of 24 on 3-pointers.

"The ball is not going in the basket," head coach Kerry Keating. "We didn't shoot good last night either. That's the danger with a young team. It's easy for them to base everything on whether their shots are going in or not."

Jared Brownridge, the team's leading scorer last season (15.9 points per game), was never able to get on track. After playing a team-high 45 minutes in Friday night's double-overtime loss to Lipscomb, the junior guard attempt just two shots in the first half and scored only seven points in the game on 2-for-8 shooting from the field. He had a game-high 27 points against Lipscomb.

The Pioneers (1-1) packed it on defense with a 2-3 zone and moved the ball around the perimeter in their Princeton-style offense. They shot 45.5 percent from the field, including a blistering 42 percent from the 3-point line.

Engesser also led Denver with six rebounds and three steals.

"The way Denver plays, they're deliberate," Keating said. "They obviously run a style that forces you to play a slower pace. They're going to take more time off the clock. You have to be efficient on both ends of the floor. We're going to have nights we don't shoot very well."

The normally efficient Matt Hubbard, who had 14 points against Lipscomb, went 0-for-7 from the floor and freshman guard Matt Hauser was only 2 of 10.

Nate Kratch shared team high scoring honors for the Broncos with seven points. He and Brownridge each had seven rebounds to lead the team.

Santa Clara only turned the ball over 10 times.

The Broncos close out the three-day, round robin tournament Sunday when they face Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2-0) at 2:30 p.m. The Panthers won both their games, knocking off Denver, 71-58, Friday and Lipscomb, 71-65, in Saturday's first game.

Cable Car Classic Schedule/Results

Friday, Nov. 13
• Wisconsin-Milwaukee 71, Denver 58
• Lipscomb 65, Santa Clara 63 (2OT)

Saturday, Nov. 14
• Wisconsin-Milwaukee 71, Lipscomb 65
• Denver 55, Santa Clara 33   

Sunday, Nov. 15
• Lipscomb vs. Denver - Noon    
• Santa Clara vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee - 2:30 p.m.

Tickets: Season tickets, mini-plans and single-game options are available for Santa Clara. Click here for information. Single-game tickets for Santa Clara games during the Cable Car Classic are good for entrance to either day's contest. Click here to purchase. For information, call (408) 554-4660 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. or email BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Doors to Leavey Center open one hour prior to tipoff of the first game each day. The ticket office is also open one hour prior to the first game.

Parking: There are two venues available for gameday parking. The campus parking structure is located just inside the main campus entrance off El Camino Real. The Leavey Center parking lot also has a limited number of spaces. Gameday parking is $10. Click here for a campus map.

Radio/Live Stream: Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (color) will call the action for the Broncos on KSCU 103.3 FM. The game can be heard over the air or online through tunein. All three Broncos games will also be streamed through TheW.tv using the radio feed.