Santa Clara-UC Irvine Game Notes
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara remains on the road Monday when it plays at UC Irvine in the opening of the Wooden Legacy which continues in Fullerton, California, and then Anaheim later this week. The Broncos face Arizona on Thursday (8:30 p.m. on ESPN2) in the beginning of bracket play. They will meet either Providence or Evansville Friday in the following round. Michigan State, Boston College, Boise State and UC Irvine are on the other side of the bracket in the eight-team field.
SANTA CLARA (0-4) at UC Irvine (3-0)
Monday, Nov. 23, 2015 • Bren Events Center (5,000) • 7 p.m. PST
Audio: KSCU 103.3 FM
Live Stats: http://ucirvinesports.com/
Live Stream: Big West TV
Santa Clara fell at UC Riverside, 77-63, Thursday despite career highs by forward Nate Kratch in points (22) and rebounds (12). SCU opened the regular season Nov. 13-15, serving as host to the 49th Annual Cable Car Classic. Junior guard Jared Brownridge, a preseason All-West Coast Conference pick, had a season-high 27 points, but the Broncos fell 65-63 in double overtime to Lipscomb in the opening game. One night later, Denver broke open a close game late in the second half to prevail, 55-33. Freshman guard KJ Feagin had a breakout performance in the finale. He posted a game-high 26 points on 11 of 14 shooting from the field, but Milwaukee rallied to win 71-65 in the last game of the three-day, round-robin tournament.
Quick Hits...
• The Broncos, led by ninth-year head coach Kerry Keating, return six of their top eight scorers from a year ago, including junior guard Jared Brownridge (15.9 ppg), sophomore forward Matt Hubbard (6.8 ppg) and junior forward Nate Kratch (5.2 ppg). Hubbard (4.6 pg) and Kratch (4.6) are also the top returning rebounders. Brownridge led the team in scoring and ranked sixth in the West Coast Conference in both points per game and 3-point FG percentage (43.3). He was also fourth in the WCC in free-throw percentage (86.2).
• Despite playing just two seasons, Brownridge already ranks seventh in school history with 193 career 3-pointers made and 27th in scoring (1,134 points). In addition, his career scoring average (16.3 ppg) ranks No. 6 on the Broncos all-time chart and his career 3-point field-goal percentage (42.4) is tops in school history.
• Santa Clara had three players start all 32 games last year, but only Brownridge remains. Guard Brandon Clark was the second-leading scorer (15.8 ppg). He accounted for 26 percent of the team's shot attempts and ended his career 13th on the school's all-time scoring list (1,549) and 10th in assists (410). Guard Denzel Johnson averaged 8.7 points per game, third on the team. The Broncos return a combined 92 starts from 2014-15.
• There are seven newcomers on the roster: guards KJ Feagin, Matt Hauser, Werner Nistler and Brendyn Taylor, as well as forwards Henrik Jadersten, Tony Lewis and Bryson Lockley. Nistler, who joined the team in the offseason, is the lone senior on the squad.
• The Broncos have a new assistant coach this season. Mike Peck joined the program in August. He came from the NBA Development League where he was the head coach of the Idaho Stampede, the Portland Trail Blazers affiliate. Steve Snell is in his second season as the associate head coach and Jesse Pruitt is in year four as an assistant coach.
• This year's games are scheduled to air locally on KSCU 103.3 FM, the school's station, with Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (color) back to call all the action. All home games will also be video streamed live through TheW.tv.
Scouting the Anteaters...
UC Irvine has won its first three games, including a 61-60 overtime victory against UCF Wednesday. Junior guard Luke Nelson is scoring a team-high 14.7 points per game and senior forward Mike Best is second at 13.3. Mamadou Ndaiye, a 7-foot-6 center, is third in scoring (9.3 ppg) and has a team-high 10 blocked shots. The Anteaters, who reached the 2015 NCAA Tournament, are shooting 48 percent from the field. The Broncos and Anteaters are meeting for the third time. UC Irvine won both prior meetings, 70-58 on Dec. 14, 2004, in Santa Clara and 78-70 on Nov. 22, 2005 in Irvine.
Kratch Attacking the Glass...
Junior forward Nate Kratch, the team's leading returning rebounder, has provided an inside presence in the Broncos first four games, especially in his last outing. Kratch has led the team in rebounding all four games, including a career-high 12 boards vs. UC Riverside. He also posted a career-high 22 points for his first career double-double. Kratch had Santa Clara's first double-double since Matt Hubbard had 12 points and 11 rebounds vs. San Diego on Jan. 3, 2015. Unfortunately, Kratch has been saddled with foul trouble or his average of 9.0 rebounds per game would be higher He is averaging 15.3 rebounds per 40 minutes of action, helping Santa Clara win the battle on the glass vs. Lipscomb and Milwaukee.
Freshmen Guard Play...
KJ Feagin and Matt Hauser, both freshmen, have seen the bulk of the time at guard along with junior Jared Brownridge. Hauser has started all four games and averaged 31.3 minutes, second on the team behind Brownridge's 35.0. Feagin played a season-high 31 minutes vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 15 and delivered 26 points on 11 of 14 from the field, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers. He was especially hot in the second half when he scored 19 of the team's 33 points and both 3-pointers. Hauser also had his most productive game against Milwaukee, scoring a season-best 10 points and dishing out four assists. He leads the team with 3.3 assists per game and a 2.6-to-1 assist to turnover ratio.
Did You Know?...
Junior forward Nate Kratch had his first career double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds vs. UC Riverside (Nov. 19). The last Santa Clara player to post at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in the same game was Mark Trasolini, who performed the feat vs. Portland on Jan. 31, 2013 when he tallied 23 points and 13 rebounds. Trasolini, who plays professionally in Italy, had seven double-doubles that season.
Tickets: Season tickets, mini-plans and single-game options are available. Click here for pricing and options. For information, call (408) 554-4660 weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. or email BroncoTickets@scu.edu.
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 Broncos home games and West Coast Conference road contests will also be streamed through TheW.tv.
