Santa Clara-Loyola Marymount Game Notes
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball travels to Southern California for its next two games, playing at Loyola Marymount Thursday and Pepperdine Saturday.
The Broncos split with those teams earlier this season at home. They downed the Waves, 62-60, on Jan. 14, and two days later fell to LMU, 76-66.
Santa Clara split a pair of home games last week, defeating San Diego, 74-71, Thursday before losing to BYU, 96-62, Saturday
SANTA CLARA (9-17, 5-9) at Loyola Marymount (11-15, 4-11)
Thursday, Feb. 18, 2016 • Gersten Pavilion (4,156) • 7 p.m. PST
Live Stream: TheW.tv - Ari Wolfe (play-by-play) and Dave Bollwinkel (analyst)
Radio: KSCU (103.3 FM) - Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
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 (not on an ESPN platform) will also be streamed through TheW.tv (local blackout restrictions apply for games broadcast over the air).
Quick Hits...
• After dropping their first seven games of the season, the Broncos, led by ninth-year head coach Kerry Keating, have gone 9-10 since Nov. 29.
• Last time vs. LMU (Jan. 16): Jared Brownridge scored 20 points and Kai Healy added 15, but Brandon Brown tallied a game-high 22 points as the Lions hit ten 3-pointers and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds to prevail 76-66.
• Brownridge, in his third year as a starter, ranks No. 37 nationally in the scoring (19.7 ppg). He has hit 82.9 percent of his free throws (fourth in the WCC) and his 126 makes from the charity stripe are tied for No. 43 in the NCAA this year. He also ranks tied for 31st nationally in 3-point field goals (73). Brownridge is one of three players in the nation to rank in the top 45 of both those categories. He is joined by Josh Adams (Wyoming) and Stefan Moody (Ole Miss).
• KJ Feagin, the team's second-leading scorer (11.2 ppg), has emerged in the last two months as consistent scoring option and distributor. The freshman guard has scored in double figures in 12 of the last 18 games after hitting that mark just once in the first eight games. He has posted eight or more assists three times in WCC action and ranks second in the league among freshman in assists (3.8 pg).
• Junior forward Nate Kratch leads the team in both rebounding (8.3 pg/fourth in the WCC) and FG percentage (53.8/fifth in the WCC), and is third in scoring (9.5 ppg).
• Despite playing less than three seasons, Brownridge already ranks third in school history with 261 career 3-pointers and 11th in scoring (1,589 points). In addition, his career scoring average (17.5 ppg) ranks No. 6 on the Broncos all-time chart and his career 3-point field-goal percentage (42.0) is tops in school history. After missing most of preseason practice Brownridge had an uneven start to the year, but started to heat up in December. He has scored in double figures in the last 17 games, averaging 21.2 points on 45.8 percent shooting from the floor, including 44.9 from behind the 3-point line.
• Nine of Santa Clara's 17 losses have been by eight points or less, including seven that were within three and four in overtime.
• The Broncos have three players on the shelf. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow (broken right wrist) has missed the last 16 games. Sophomore forward Jarvis Pugh (knee) missed the previous seven games before playing against Saint Mary's (Dec. 23), but sat out the last 12. Junior guard Brendyn Taylor (concussion) missed seven games and freshman forward Tony Lewis (leg) has not played this season.
Boost off the Bench...
Sophomore forward Matt Hubbard and junior guard Brendyn Taylor have given the Broncos some scoring punch off the bench in recent games. After a stretch of scoring a total of six points in four games, Hubbard has averaged 9.4 in the last five, including a career-high 16 vs. San Francisco (Feb. 6). He has also hit 48.6 percent from the field (18 of 37) in that span. Taylor has put together his most productive stretch, using his athleticism to average 6.4 points during the last five games on 45-percent shooting from the floor (9 of 20). He has also dished out 12 assists, including a career-high six vs. San Diego (Feb. 11), and just three turnovers, while averaging 19.2 minutes.
Career Night...
Emmanuel Ndumanya had the most productive game of his career vs. San Francisco on Feb. 6. The sophomore center posted career highs in both points (9) and rebounds (12). He controlled the glass early, hauling in eight rebounds in the first five minutes, and scored all nine of his points in the first 20 minutes when the Broncos built an 8-point lead. Ndumanya also hit his first-career 3-pointer (on his first attempt). He went on to collect 10 rebounds (second-best total of his career) in Saturday's BYU game.
Tidbits...
• With 16 points Saturday vs. BYU, Jared Brownridge (1,589) moved from 12th to 11th on the school's career scoring list, passing Ken Sears (1,586/1951-55). He need two more 3-pointers to tie Steve Nash (263/1992-96) for second on the school's career list.
• Brownridge (38) scored 30 or more points for the sixth time in his career and third time this season at Portland (Jan. 30). His 14 field goals were a career high (12 at Pepperdine, March 1, 2014). Brownridge is the only player in school history to post 38 or more points in a game three times. In fact, only one other player has done it twice. Ken Sears had 39 at Saint Mary's (Feb. 28, 1955) and then 41 vs. Pacific (March, 4, 1955).
• Since an 0-for-3 performance from the free-throw line at Pacific (Dec. 21), KJ Feagin has connected on 36 of 39 free throws (92.3 percent). He has improved from 59.1 to 81.5 percent from the line in the last 12 games. Feagin has moved to No. 6 in the WCC in free-throw percentage, top among freshmen.
• During the first 15 games of the season, Santa Clara only had as many as three players in double figures six times. In the last 11 games, three or more players have reached double figures eight times. The Broncos are 8-6 when at least three players reach double figures, including 3-0 with four players scoring 10 or more.
• Brownridge has scored 20 or more points in nine of the last 17 games and 10 times on the season. He has connected on seven or more 3-pointers four times (seven vs. Arizona, Nov. 26; seven at Nevada, Dec. 18; career-high eight vs. Pacific, Dec. 23; seven at Portland, Jan. 30).
Scouting the Lions...
Loyola Marymount, 11-15 (4-11 WCC) on the season, have dropped five of six games, but did split a pair on last week's East Bay road trip, downing Pacific, 77-72, on Thursday before losing at Saint Mary's, 68-62, Saturday. Adom Jocko, an athletic forward, leads the team in scoring (16.6 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 pg). Guard Brandon Brown is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and ranks fourth in the WCC in assists (5.7 pg). The Lions are first in the league in turnover margin (+2.6 per game) and second in free-throw shooting (73.0 percent). However, they are No. 10 in the WCC in opponent field-goal percentage (46.3) and 3-point FG percentage (38.4).
The LMU Series...
The series began in 1937 with the Broncos holding a 86-58 lead. Santa Clara has won four of the last six, including all three meetings last season. Brandon Brown scored a game-high 22 points and David Humphries scored 14 off the bench to help lead the Lions to a 76-66 win against the Broncos on Jan. 16 at Leavey Center. Santa Clara won 70-63 last year at LMU, snapping a three-game road losing streak in the series.
Notables...
• Led by 16 points from Matt Hubbard, the Broncos received a season-best 39 bench points in a 74-71 victory over San Diego (Feb. 11).
• In 14 conference games, two players - Jared Brownridge (42.4/42 of 99) and Henrik Jadersten (42.1/16 of 38) - have each hit at better than a 40-percent clip on 3-pointers. Jadersten ranks 12th and Brownridge 13th in WCC action.
• Brownridge and Kratch are the only players to start all 26 games. Feagin has started 25, while Kai Healy is fourth with 18. Emmanuel Ndumanya made his first career start in the first Gonzaga game (Dec. 31) and was also in the starting lineup the following 11 games. Until that Gonzaga game, the Broncos used the same starting lineup - Kratch, Hubbard, Brownridge, Feagin and Healy - for six straight outings. Ndumanya replaced Hubbard, who injured an ankle in the previous game vs. Saint Mary's (Dec. 23), in the starting lineup vs. the Bulldogs. Hubbard started the previous eight games.
By The Numbers…
1...KJ Feagin is first in the WCC among freshmen in free-throw percentage (81.5).
2...Jared Brownridge (261) needs two more 3-pointers to move from third to second on the school's career list. Steve Nash (263/1992-96) is currently second.
3...Jared Brownridge is third in the WCC in minutes played (35.7 pg).
3...Jared Brownridge is one of only three players in the NCAA to rank in the top 45 in both made free throws (t-43rd at 126) and 3-pointers (t-31st at 73) this year. Josh Adams of Wyoming (t-43rd in 3FGs/6th in FTs) and Stefan Moody of Ole Miss (t-43rd in 3-FGs/7th FTs) are the others.
7...The Broncos have used seven different starting lineups this season, but the same one in the last 12 games.
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