SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Carrying a four-game winning streak, Santa Clara heads out on the road for the next two contests. The Broncos downed Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 69-57, Tuesday to close out a three-game homestand. For the second-straight outing, Santa Clara was led by the duo of juniors Jared Brownridge and Nate Kratch. Brownridge and Kratch each scored 20 points vs. the Golden Lions, leading a second-half comeback.
The Broncos head to Nevada Friday for their final nonconference game of the season before opening West Coast Conference play Monday at Pacific.
SANTA CLARA (4-7) at Nevada (7-3)
Friday, Dec. 18, 2015 • Lawlor Events Center (11,536) • 7 p.m. PST
Radio: KSCU (103.3 FM) - Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play)
Live Stream: www.NevadaWolfPack.tv
Live Stats: www.NevadaStats.com
Quick Hits...
• The Broncos, led by ninth-year head coach Kerry Keating, are in the midst of five games in 12 days, including three in six days. With finals in session last week, the schedule was light with just one game (Dec. 5 vs. San Jose State) in a 12-day span. Santa Clara played four games in seven days last month at the Wooden Legacy, and had three straight days of action with the season-opening Cable Car Classic.
• Junior guard Jared Brownridge, a two-year starter, leads the team in scoring at 18.0 points per contest, which is third in the WCC. He is second on the team in assists (2.6 pg) and third rebounding (career-high 4.2 pg). Junior forward Nate Kratch is second in scoring (12.5 ppg) and leads the team in both rebounding (9.5 pg/third in the WCC) and field-goal percentage (61.4/third in the WCC). Kratch's 3.6 offensive rebounds per game lead the league.
• Despite playing just two-plus seasons, Brownridge already ranks sixth in school history with 212 career 3-pointers made and 24th in scoring (1,254 points). In addition, his career scoring average (16.7 ppg) ranks No. 6 on the Broncos all-time chart and his career 3-point field-goal percentage (41.7) is tops in school history. After missing most of preseason practice Brownridge had an uneven start to the season, but may be coming around. During the last two games, he has averaged 22.5 points on 52 percent shooting from the floor, including 53.3 from behind the 3-point line. He connected on all 11 free throws and posted four assists with no turnovers. In fact, Brownridge has turned the ball over just 19 times on the year, despite averaging 36.0 minutes a game (second in the WCC) while being the focal point of the offense.
• The Broncos have four players on the shelf. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow is the newest addition to the injury list. He missed the last three games and will miss approximately two months after being diagnosed with a broken right wrist. Sophomore forward Jarvis Pugh (knee) has missed the last five games, junior guard Brendyn Taylor (concussion) has missed the last seven, and freshman forward Tony Lewis (leg) has not played this season.
Team Trends...
• After connecting on 34.1 percent from the field, including 25.1 on 3-pointers, in the first five games, the Broncos are hitting 44.3 percent (34.5 on 3-pointers) in the most recent six contests. Two of their three best shooting performances occurred in the last three outings (50.8 vs. San Jose State; season-best 55.6 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff).
• The opposition connected on 38.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc in the first five games, but has been held to 25.5 percent in the last six contests. The Broncos held Arizona to a season-low 13.6 percent on 3's (3-for-22).
Player Trends...
• During the last five games, Nate Kratch is averaging 19.0 points and 10.6 rebounds. In that span, he has hit 37 of 54 field goals (68.5 percent) and 21 of his 53 rebounds have been at the offensive end.
• In the last three games, freshman guard KJ Feagin has averaged 11.3 points, 5.8 assists and 3.3 rebounds. He is averaging 2.9-to-1 assists-to-turnovers in those games.
• Guard Kai Healy has at least six rebounds in four of the last five games, and averaging 6.0 per game during that span.
Scouting the Wolf Pack...
Nevada closes out a three-game homestand Saturday against the Broncos. The Wolf Pack are coming off a 79-71 victory over Drake (Dec. 12) in the Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge. Nevada has won all four of its home games this season and has been helped throughout the year by out-rebounding all 10 of its foes (average of plus-7.5 pg). The Wolf Pack have four players scoring in double figures led by senior guard Marqueze Coleman (17.6) and junior guard DJ Fenner (13.5 ppg). That duo has started all 10 games and is among seven players averaging at least 20 minutes per game.
The Nevada Series...
The teams have met 60 times with the Broncos holding a 34-26 edge. This will be the first meeting in eight years. Nevada downed Santa Clara, 76-54, on Nov. 17, 2007, in Reno. The teams met one year earlier (Nov. 26), with the 21st-ranked Wolf Pack coming out on top, 78-70. The last meeting before that came on Dec, 14, 2002 when the Broncos defeated the Wolf Pack, 67-62, in Santa Clara. The Wolf Pack have won three of the last four. The Broncos' last win (73-70) in Reno occurred on Jan. 8, 2000.
Notables...
• Nate Kratch and KJ Feagin have been the team's most accurate shooters. Kratch has connected on 61.4 percent from the floor (third in the WCC), including 68.5 in the last five games, scoring mostly in the paint, while Feagin has hit 52.8 percent of his field-goal attempts on a mix of drives and jump shots. Forward Jarvis Pugh has connected on 52 percent from the floor, though he has missed the last five games.
• Kratch has posted five double-digit rebound games this season.
• Feagin has totaled 26 assists during the last four games (5.2 pg), playing in a combined 141 minutes (28.2 pg). He played a career-high 37 minutes vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
• Brownridge and Kratch are the only players to start all 11 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 (Nov. 23). Wardlow went on to start the next three games. Healy made his first start of the season (second of his career) vs. San Jose State (Dec. 5).
By The Numbers…
5...Jared Brownridge (1,274) needs five 3-pointers to move sixth to fifth on the school's career list. Marlon Garnett (217/1993-97) is currently fifth.
6...Jared Brownridge (1,274) needs six more points to move 22nd to 21st on the school's career scoring list. Ralph Ogden (1,280/1967-70) is currently 21st.
6...The Broncos have used six different starting lineups this season.
8...Nate Kratch has eight rebounds in eight of 11 games this season, including 12 vs. UC Riverside (Nov 19), 14 vs. UC Irvine (Nov. 23), 12 vs. San Jose State and 18 vs. Pacific Union (Dec. 5)
31.75...Average career games played among the 12 active players on the roster (freshmen Tony Lewis and Bryson Lockley have not played). That group has played in a total of 381 games, with juniors Jared Brownridge (76) and Nate Kratch (76) accounting for 152.
