FULLERTON, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball team put its best effort of the season together and got a tournament-record 44 points from Jared Brownridge, but No. 11/10 Arizona was able to hold off the Broncos, 75-73, Thursday night in overtime in opening-round action of the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy.

Arizona's Gabe York hit one of two free throws with 3.9 seconds left in overtime to snap a 73-all tie in a game played at Cal State Fullerton's Titan Gym. The Broncos (0-6) inbounded the ball in the backcourt, but KJ Feagin was forced to step out of bounds advancing the ball up the court.

Arizona's Ryan Anderson was fouled and hit his first free throw. He intentionally missed the second, but when no one touched the ball, the Broncos had one last chance with 0.9 seconds left on the clock. After inbounding the ball under the Arizona (5-0) basket, Brownridge had an attempt at a running halfcourt shot, but it was off target.

Both teams had chances to win in the final minute of regulation in a game the Wildcats led by 17 in the first half and the Broncos battled to tie three times in the final nine minutes.

Brownridge, whose point total tied for second most in school history, nailed a pair of free throws to knot the game at 65-all with 1:05 left.

Anderson, who had a team-high 17 points, turned the ball over on an offensive foul, but Santa Clara's Evan Wardlow was forced into a turnover on the following possession.

Anderson then missed a jumper and Jarvis Pugh was fouled on the rebound with 7 seconds left, falling hard to floor. However, Pugh missed both free throws at the other end.

York, who struggled from the field hitting only 3 of 15, grabbed the rebound but his halfcourt shot at the regulation buzzer missed.

"I told [Jarvis], one of the most impressive things about him, to not have him hit one of those free throws, but to have the wherewithal, and these guys know I create situations that will never happen, but what Jarvis did tonight to not touch that intentionally missed free throw showed me that he has a chance to step up." head coach Kerry Keating said. "It gave us a chance to dead ball, advance the ball, and get us a chance from half court."

Brownridge's offensive explosion, the most by a Santa Clara player since Nick Vanos scored 44 vs. Loyola Marymount on Dec. 21, 1985, and a defense that mixed in zone and man-to-man to keep the high-powered Arizona to just 3-for-22 accuracy from the 3-point line kept the Broncos in the game.

The Broncos rallied late in the first half to head into the locker room with some momentum.

Down 32-15 with 4:28 left in the first half, Brownridge started a 12-0 run with a conventional 3-point play and less than a minute later nailed a 3-pointer from the wing to cut the deficit to nine.

The Broncos chopped the lead to five late in the first half and rode that momentum into the second. Brownridge nailed one of his career-high tying seven 3-pointers 14 seconds into the second half and tied the game at 34-all with 18:05 left in regulation on a jumper, which capped a 19-2 run for the Broncos spanning nearly seven minutes.

But Arizona, which outscored Santa Clara 40-16 in the paint, began to assert itself inside again.

Anderson, who recorded a double-double with game-high 11 rebounds, hit a layup and had a dunk off an offensive rebound. He extended the lead to 47-38 with 13:05 left when he gathered a missed 3-pointer from Alonzo Trier.

But the Broncos fought their way back thanks to Brownridge, who nailed a 3-pointer at 8:44 to tie the score at 54-all.

Mark Tollefson, who had 13 points for Arizona, hit a layup and Anderson nailed a pair of free throws for 63-57 lead, but Brownridge hit two free throws and a 3-pointer on back-to-back possessions to tie the score at 63-all with 1:58 left.

"I'm really proud of our guys," Keating said. "It's our first game on national TV. And obviously it's easy for people to see our record and make deductions on where we're at; there is a lot of things that go into that, obviously.  What I'm most impressed with is when Jared (Brownridge) came back to today after missing the entire preseason, but Sept. 21 to Oct. 27 with an injury."

Forward Kaleb Tarczewski, who was injured in the second half, had 12 points and eight rebounds for Arizona, which moves on to face Providence Friday in a semifinal game in the eight-team field.

Brownridge was 11-for-29 from the floor, including 7-for-19 from beyond the 3-point line. He was a perfect 15-for-15 from the free-throw line, tied for sixth-most makes in a game by a Santa Clara player. The junior guard matched his own school record of 3-pointers made (also vs. Pepperdine – March 1, 2014; La Sierra – Dec. 14, 2013).

He broke James Harden's tournament record of 40 points set in the 2008 third-place game when Arizona State faced UTEP. Brownridge matched former Santa Clara player Evan Roquemore's tourney record of 3-pointers made (vs. Oklahoma – Nov. 25, 2011).

"It's always disappointing to lose the game, but we're excited about where we've come from," Brownridge said. "We know we're a young team, but coach always tells us it's a process; a long process.  The more changes you see within the group that we have, the more we keep improving, and the better things will be in the future."

No other player reached double figures for the Broncos. Feagin and Hubbard had six points apiece. Nate Kratch, who was saddled with foul trouble and played just 19 minutes, had only two rebounds after setting career highs in each of the last three games.

The Broncos will face Evansville at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN3) in a consolation round game. Michigan, which down Boston College, 99-68, and Boise State, which knocked off UC Irvine, 71-64, will meet in the semifinal game on the other side of the bracket. Boston College and UC Irvine meet in a consolation round game Friday afternoon.

Notes: Santa Clara and Arizona met for the 11th time. Arizona, which holds a 7-4 series lead, downed Santa Clara 82-59 on Nov. 26, 2010. The teams met two years earlier, in Kerry Keating's second season, with the Wildcats edging the Broncos, 69-66, in the 2008 Preseason NIT (Nov. 25) … Jared Brownridge recorded his fourth career 30-point game. In addition to matching Nick Vanos' single-game point total, he also tied Russ Vrankovich, who did it vs. Pepperdine on March 7, 1964. Bud Ogden set the school record with 56 points at Pepperdine on March 3, 1967. Brownridge's total was the most ever for the Santa Clara player in a neutral site contest.