Santa Clara-Evansville Game Notes

FULLERTON, Calif. - Coming off a near upset of No. 11/10 Arizona Thursday night in the opening round of the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, Santa Clara looks to regroup in less than 24 hours to face Evansville in the consolation bracket. The Broncos and Purple Aces, who have never faced each other, play at 6 p.m. Friday at Cal State Fullerton.

The Broncos took the Wildcats to overtime before falling 75-73 despite a career-high and tournament-record 44 points by junior guard Jared Brownridge. Santa Clara and Arizona had chances to win at the end of regulation, but a pair of free throws by the Wildcats in the final four seconds of overtime turned out to be the difference.

After an off day, the eight-team tournament concludes Sunday at Honda Center in Anaheim. Michigan State, Boston College, Boise State and UC Irvine are on the other side of the bracket.

SANTA CLARA (0-6) vs. Evansville (4-1)

Friday, Nov. 27, 2015 • Titan Gym (4,000) • 6 p.m. PST

TV/Live Stream: ESPN3 - Roxy Bernstein (play by play), Sean Farnham (color), Jeff Goodman (sidelines)

Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/

Radio: None

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 202 career 3-pointers made and 25th in scoring (1,197 points). In addition, his career scoring average (16.9 ppg) ranks No. 6 on the Broncos all-time chart and his career 3-point field-goal percentage (41.8) is tops in school history. After missing most of preseason practice Brownridge, however, has not been as accurate in the early going this season, connecting on only 30.9 percent, including 28 percent from beyond the 3-point line. He still leads the team and the West Coast Conference in scoring (20.2 ppg) and is averaging a career-high 4.8 rebounds a game. In addition, he has turned the ball over just 12 times on the year, despite averaging 36.0 minutes a game while being the focal point of the offense.
• The 6-foot-8 Kratch has been the main target inside and top rebounder for the Broncos. He leads the team with 8.7 rebounds per contest and ranks third in scoring (7.0 ppg). He has produced double-digit rebounds in two of his last three games, eclipsing his previous career high twice (12 vs. UC Riverside; 14 vs. UC Irvine). Kratch ranks third in the West Coast Conference in rebounding and his 19 offensive boards lead the league.
• Santa Clara, which has no scholarship seniors on the roster, 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.

Scouting the Purple Aces...
Evansville (4-1), which plays in the Missouri Valley Conference, suffered its first loss of the season Thursday, falling to Providence, 74-64, in the opening round of the Wooden Legacy. Senior guard D.J. Balentine, the team's leading scorer (20.5 ppg), had a team-high 18 points and senior center Egidijus Mockevicius had 13. The Purple Aces return nine players, including all five starters, from a team which captured the 2015 CIT Championship. With 1,848 points, Balentine is the active leading scorer in the NCAA. He averages 5.8 assists per game and is the team's top 3-point threat, though he is hitting at a 28-percent clip this season.

Brownridge Carries the Load vs. Arizona...
It's no secret that junior guard Jared Brownridge is Santa Clara's top offensive threat, but he took it one step further in Thursday's 75-73 overtime loss vs. No. 11/10 Arizona in the Wooden Legacy. Brownridge tallied a career-high and tournament-best 44 points on 11-for-29 shooting, including 7-for-19 from behind the 3-point line. He added three assists (two on 3-pointers) thus accounting for 71.2 percent of the team's scoring. Here are some benchmarks reached:
• Single-game high in the NCAA this season.
• Tied for No. 2 on the school's single-game scoring list. Russ Vrankovich (vs. Pepperdine, March 7, 1964) and Nick Vanos (at Loyola Marymount, Jan. 31, 1985) each had 44. Bud Ogden scored a school-record 56 at Pepperdine (March 3, 1967). Brownridge's total was the most-ever in a neutral site game and he was the first SCU player to reach 40 points since Steve Nash tallied 40 at Gonzaga on Jan. 19, 1990.
• Broke James Harden's tournament record of 40 points set in the 2008 third-place game when Arizona State faced UTEP. He also matched former Santa Clara player Evan Roquemore's tourney record of 3-pointers made (vs. Oklahoma – Nov. 25, 2011). His 15 free throws made tied the tournament record (Matt Howard, Butler - 2009 vs. Minnesota), and had the most field goal attempts (25 by Josh Akognon, Cal State Fullerton - 2008 vs. Wake Forest) and most 3-point FG attempts (14 by Akognon in the same game).
• Matched his own career mark of 3-pointers made (also vs. Pepperdine – March 1, 2014; La Sierra – Dec. 14, 2013). That total is tied for sixth on the school's singe game list. His made throws were also tied for the sixth-most ever in a Santa Clara game. His field goal attempts were tied for second on the single-game list. Ogden had 32 in his record-setting game 56-point game and Nash 29 when he tallied 40 in 1995.
• He scored 30 or more points for the fourth time in his career. His previous career high of 38 occurred vs. Pepperdine on March 1, 2014. That was also a Santa Clara freshman record.

Notables...
A 2014-15 first-team All-West Coast Conference pick and a preseason all-league choice, Jared Brownridge is leading the team in scoring at 20.2 points per game. He had a career-high 44 points in Thursday's loss to No. 11/10 Arizona and delivered 27 points in the season-opening 65-63 double-overtime loss to Lipscomb. Brownridge has been held to 31 percent from the field this season. The junior hit 44 percent of his field-goal attempts last season, including 43 percent on 3-pointers.
The Broncos connected on 43.4 percent from the field vs. Arizona, the team's second-best mark of the season (51.1 percent vs. Milwaukee on Nov. 15).
Nate Kratch and KJ Feagin have been the team's most accurate shooters among the starters. Kratch has connected on 50 percent from the floor, scoring mostly in the paint, while Feagin has hit 51 percent of his field-goal attempts, including 40 percent on 3-pointers. Forward Jarvis Pugh has connected on 52 percent from the floor.
Brownridge and Nate Kratch are the only players to start all six games. Freshman forward Henrik Jadersten started for the first time in his career and sophomore guard Evan Wardlow made his first start of the season (second of his career) vs. UC Irvine.