WATCH | Brownridge's Game-Winning Shot
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Despite a cold shooting night, there was little doubt who was taking the final shot in Thursday night's game for the Santa Clara men's basketball team.
Junior Jared Brownridge nailed a 3-pointer from the left corner with 1.3 seconds remaining to lift the Broncos to a thrilling 62-60 victory against Pepperdine in West Coast Conference action in Leavey Center.
Brownridge (12 points) was one of four players in double figures for the Broncos (7-12, 3-4), though he was only 4-for-13 from the floor.
"Jared didn't play well but he played well when we needed him to and made the one that we needed," Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating said.
Nate Kratch had a game-high 15 points to go with nine rebounds. KJ Feagin scored 14 and Henrik Jadersten came off the bench to score a career-high 10.
Pepperdine (10-7, 3-3), coming off a 67-64 win Saturday against West Coast Conference leading Saint Mary's, saw its three-game winning streak snapped despite 14 points apiece from Lamond Murray Jr. and Jett Raines. Stacy Davis, the team's second-leading scorer was saddled with foul trouble and held to only eight points, tying his season low.
The Broncos led by as many as 15 in the second half, but that eventually evaporated even though they turned the ball over only three times in the game.
When a pair of free throws by Davis cut the lead to 54-47 with 8:12 left in the game, Feagin answered by calming draining a 3-pointer at the top of the key. But Pepperdine reeled off the next 11 points to claim its first lead since midway through the first half.
Raines hit a layup to make it 58-57 with 4:33 left, but on the ensuing possession Kratch weaved his way through two defenders in the paint and hit one of his patented hook shots to give the Broncos a 1-point lead.
Davis, who was just 3-for-7 from the field, answered with an inside bucket and it was 60-59 Pepperdine with 3:19 left.
But that was the last field goal until Brownridge's heroics.
Raines missed a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left and Pepperdine fouled Brownridge twice with the Broncos outside the bonus. Santa Clara inbounded the ball for the final time with 9.0 seconds on the clock.
"They gave us the two fouls," Brownridge said. "We stuck with the same play. Kai [Healy] came around and curled off the screen and then I was going to come off the next double and get the ball and from there, coach [Keating] told me to win the game. He has confidence in me and he's had confidence in me since I was a freshman."
Brownridge lost the handle on the ball with about 5 seconds left but regained control in time.
"When I caught it, me and the guy guarding me, we both kind of tripped over each other and the only thing I noticed was I was the one that got up first,' Brownridge said. "I was like, 'man, this is my opportunity.' So I was able to get the shot off before he was able to get back up on both of his feet and the ball went in."
A desperation heave by Pepperdine's Jeremy Major at the buzzer was well off the mark and the Broncos, after dropping six games by three points or less this year, had secured a victory in a tight game.
"Our guys showed some resiliency," Keating said. "We didn't let the blown lead get to us."
The Broncos only shot 32 percent from the floor in the second half after hitting 52 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
After missing their first five shots of the game, the Broncos gradually heated up in a fast-paced, cleanly played first half that featured only three combined turnovers.
Jadersten provided a spark, matching his career high in points (8) in the first half. He nailed a pair of 3-pointers in a stretch where the Broncos hit 7 of 9 from the floor to take a 27-21 lead with 6 minutes remaining.
Jadersten's tip-in of Brendyn Taylor's missed shot gave Broncos their largest lead at 36-28. A little more than a minute later that was matched when Feagin hit a fadeaway 8-foot jumper with 4 seconds left for a halftime 38-30 lead.
The Broncos are back on the floor in less than 48 hours, playing host to LMU at 8 p.m. Saturday.
Notes: With 12 points, Jared Brownridge (1,443) moved from 16th to 15th on the school's career scoring list. Bud Ogden (1,437/1965-69) was 15th. Brownridge needs three more points to reach Mike Stewart (1,446/1970-73) who is 14th … Nate Kratch (15 points/nine rebounds) was one rebound shy of his fifth double-double of the season … Santa Clara's three turnovers were a season-low (six vs. Pacific Union and Saint Mary's) … the Broncos eight free throw attempts were tied for the second-fewest this season (five vs. Saint Mary's; eight at Nevada).
The Pepperdine Series: The series began in 1956 with the Broncos now holding a 73-58 lead. The teams have split the eight games during the last four seasons. However, Santa Clara has won nine of the last 11 at home.