Santa Clara-Saint Mary's Game Notes | Single-Game Tickets
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After a pair of tough road losses, Santa Clara will play Saint Mary's Wednesday in its West Coast Conference home opener. The Broncos, who have won their last three home games, lost 73-72 at Pacific Monday night when Alec Kobre hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer of overtime. Jared Brownridge, who has scored 20 or more points in four straight contests, tallied a game-high 36 points, including a career-best eight 3-pointers. The Broncos shot 49 percent from the field, including a 59-percent clip from behind the 3-point line. Just three days earlier, the Broncos fell at Nevada, 72-69, in their final nonconference game of the season.
SANTA CLARA (4-9, 0-1) vs. Saint Mary's (9-1, 1-0)
Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015 • Leavey Center (4,700) • 8 p.m. PST
TV: - CSN California, ROOT Northwest, ROOT Rocky Mountain - Barry Tompkins (play-by-play) and Dan Belluomini (analyst)
Live Stream: TheW.tv (blackout in local markets)
Radio: KSCU (103.3 FM) - Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst)
Live Stats: www.statbroadcast.com
Tickets: Mini-plans and single-game options are available. Click here to purchase tickets (link to single-game) 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. The ticket office is also open one hour prior to the start of the game. During games, Chad Cardinal and Jesse Moreno the ticket operations staff will be located above Section 105 to answer questions.
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 Broncos home games and West Coast Conference contests will also be streamed through TheW.tv (local blackout restrictions apply for games broadcast over the air).
Quick Hits...
• The Broncos, led by ninth-year head coach Kerry Keating, are closing out a stretch of five games in 12 days, including three in six. With finals in session during the week of Dec. 7, 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, is scoring a WCC-best 20.2 points per game (No. 28 nationally). He is second on the team in assists (3.0 pg) and third in rebounding (career-high 4.0 pg). He is connecting on 83.1 percent of his free throws (fifth in the WCC) and his 74 makes from the charity stripe are No. 6 in the NCAA this year. Junior forward Nate Kratch is second in scoring (11.9 ppg) and leads the team in both rebounding (9.2 pg/third in the WCC) and field-goal percentage (61.8/third in the WCC). Kratch's 3.5 offensive rebounds per game rank second in the league.
• Despite playing just two-plus seasons, Brownridge already ranks third in school history with 227 career 3-pointers and 21st in scoring (1,339 points). In addition, his career scoring average (17.2 ppg) ranks No. 6 on the Broncos all-time chart and his career 3-point field-goal percentage (42.5) is tops in school history. After missing most of preseason practice Brownridge had an uneven start to the season, but has been heating up. During the last four games, he has averaged 27.5 points on 50.0 percent shooting from the floor, including 57.5 from behind the 3-point line. He has also posted 14 assists with six turnovers in that span. In fact, Brownridge has turned the ball over just 25 times on the year, despite averaging a league-high 36.3 minutes a game while being the focal point of the offense.
• Seven of Santa Clara's nine losses have been by eight points or less, including five that were within three points. The Broncos have lost three times in overtime.
• The Broncos have three players on the shelf and one who just returned from injury. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow (broken right wrist) missed the last five games and will be out approximately two months. Sophomore forward Jarvis Pugh (knee) has missed the last seven games and freshman forward Tony Lewis (leg) has not played this season. Junior guard Brendyn Taylor (concussion) returned vs. Nevada after missing seven games.
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 44.9 percent (39.4 on 3-pointers) in the most recent eight contests. Three of their best four shooting performances occurred in the last five outings (50.8 vs. San Jose State; season-best 55.6 vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff; 49.0 vs. Pacific).
• During the last three games, the Broncos have connected on 52.1 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts (37 of 71).
• The opposition connected on 38.2 percent from behind the 3-point arc in the first five games, but has been held to 28.9 percent in the last eight contests. The Broncos held Arizona to a season-low 13.6 percent on 3's (3-for-22).
Tidbits...
• The Broncos set a school record with 16 made 3-pointers (27 attempts) vs. Pacific (Dec. 21), snapping the previous mark of 15 vs. Gonzaga on March 5, 2001. The 59.3 percent accuracy was second-best on the season (64.3 vs. Pacific Union on Dec. 12).
• With a career-high eight 3-pointers vs. Pacific, Jared Brownridge (227) moved from a fourth-place tie into third on the school's career 3-pointers list. He entered the game tied with Raymond Cowels III (219/2009-13) and passed Kyle Bailey (225/2001-05). Brownridge's total vs. the Tigers ranks tied for second on the school's single-game list. Kevin Foster had a school-record nine vs. Air Force on March 18, 2011.
• During the last six games, Nate Kratch is averaging 17.2 points and 10.0 rebounds. In that span, he has hit 41 of 61 field goals (67.2 percent) and 23 of his 60 rebounds (38.3 percent) have been at the offensive end.
• Brownridge has scored 20 or more points in four straight games and six times on the season. He has connected on seven or more 3-pointers three times (seven vs. Arizona, Nov. 26; seven at Nevada, Dec. 18; career-high eight vs. Pacific, Dec. 23).
• K.J. Feagin is averaging 3.7 assists per game, which ranks seventh in the WCC, including first among freshmen.
• Sophomore forward Matt Hubbard has scored in double figures four times this season, including three of the last five games.
• Sophomore guard Kai Healy has at least five rebounds in five of the last seven games, averaging 5.6 per contest during that stretch.
• Brendyn Taylor, a junior transfer from USC, saw his first action since the fourth game of the season vs. Nevada (Dec. 18). He played 10 minutes, posting four points, four rebounds and one assist.
Scouting the Gaels...
The Gaels, off to a 9-1 start, are the top shooting team in the nation, connecting on 54 percent of their field goal attempts. They also have the top assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.11-to-1. Saint Mary's is a strong defensive unit, ranking No. 7 in the nation in points allowed (58.0 per game) and 38th in opponent field-goal percentage (38.3). Sophomore guard Emmett Naar leads the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game. He is one of eight players averaging at least 7.0 points pg and his 70 percent 3-point field-goal percentage leads the nation. Junior guard Joe Rahon is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.9 points per game. The Gaels are out-rebounding opponents an average of 10.7 per game with junior forward Dane Pineau hauling in a team-high 8.8 per contest.
The Saint Mary's Series...
Santa Clara and Saint Mary's are longtime rivals and original West Coast Conference members. The series began in 1910 and the teams will be playing for the 219th time, the most common opponent in Santa Clara history. The Broncos lead the series 133-85. The teams have split the last four meetings.
Notables...
• Nate Kratch and KJ Feagin have been the team's most accurate shooters. Kratch has connected on 61.8 percent from the floor (third in the WCC), including 67.2 in the last six games, scoring mostly in the paint, while Feagin has hit 48.3 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 seven games.
• Kratch has posted five double-digit rebound games this season.
• Feagin has totaled 34 assists during the last six games (5.7 pg), including a career-high eight vs. Pacific (Dec. 21). His assist-to-turnover ratio in that span is 2.8-to-1.
• Brownridge and Kratch are the only players to start all 13 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. Kai Healy made his first start of the season (second of his career) vs. San Jose State (Dec. 5).
• The Broncos have used the same starting lineup the last five games - Kratch, Matt Hubbard, Jared Brownridge, Feagin and Healy.
By The Numbers…
6...The Broncos have used six different starting lineups this season.
7...Jared Brownridge (1,339) needs seven more points to move from 21st to 20th on the school's career scoring list. Marlon Garnett (1,346/1993-97) is currently 20th. Brownridge can also reach Jens Gordon (1,356 1985-89), who is 19th, with 17 more points.
8...Nate Kratch has eight rebounds in nine of 13 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)
33.3...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 400 games, with juniors Jared Brownridge (78) and Nate Kratch (78) accounting for 156.
