Santa Clara-Pacific Game Notes | Single-Game Tickets
Audio: Werner Nistler Halftime Interview (vs. Pacific)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara closes out the regular season Saturday when Pacific visits Leavey Center.
The Broncos were downed, 75-50, Thursday at Saint Mary's, the top shooting team in the nation.
Pacific knocked off San Francisco, 79-70, Thursday on senior night for the Tigers.
Santa Clara and Pacific played on Dec. 21 in the West Coast Conference opener for both teams. Alec Kobre's buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of overtime sent the Tigers to a 73-72 victory.
SANTA CLARA (10-19, 6-11) vs. Pacific (8-19, 6-11)
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016 • Leavey Center (4,700) • 6 p.m. PST
TV: CSN California - Kate Scott (play-by-play) and Ros Gold-Onwude (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: Click here to purchase tickets for the Pacific 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 of 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).
Game Promotion: The Santa Clara baseball team closes the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament on Sunday at 6 p.m. against Michigan. Bring your ticket from the Pacific men's basketball game to the Schott Stadium box office to receive $2 off a general admission ticket to Sunday night's game.
Quick Hits...
• The Broncos have 10 freshmen and sophomores on the roster so only one player will be recognized prior to Saturday's game. Werner Nistler, the lone senior on the roster, will be acknowledged along with two student managers during pregame.
• Jared Brownridge, in his third year as a starter, ranks second in the WCC and No. 29 nationally in the scoring (20.0 ppg). He has hit 82.2 percent of his free throws (fifth in the WCC) and his 149 makes from the charity stripe are tied for No. 49 in the NCAA this year. He also ranks tied for 24th nationally in 3-point field goals (84). Brownridge is one of five players in the nation to rank in the top 50 of both those categories. Josh Adams (Wyoming), Stefan Moody (Ole Miss), Elijah Brown (New Mexico) and Frank Eaves (Appalachian St.).
• 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 14 times in the last 21 games after hitting that mark just once in the first eight contests. He has posted eight or more assists three times in WCC action and ranks second in the league among freshman (ninth overall) in assists (3.8 pg).
• Despite playing less than three seasons, Brownridge already ranks second in school history with 272 career 3-pointers and ninth in scoring (1,657 points). In addition, his career scoring average (17.6 ppg) ranks tied for No. 5 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 20 games, averaging 21.4 points on 45.4 percent shooting from the floor, including 44.4 from behind the 3-point line.
• Nine of Santa Clara's 19 losses have been by eight points or less, including seven that were within three and four in overtime. The Broncos are 5-7 in games decided by four points or less, but have won the last two.
• The Broncos have three players on the shelf. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow (broken right wrist) has missed the last 21 games and will not play the rest of the season. Sophomore forward Jarvis Pugh (knee) missed the previous seven games before playing against Saint Mary's (Dec. 23), but sat out the next 14. He returned Thursday vs. Saint Mary's, though sophomore Matt Hubbard (concussion protocol) sat out. Junior guard Brendyn Taylor (concussion) missed seven games and freshman forward Tony Lewis (leg) has not played this season.
Final Game for One Senior...
Guard Werner Nistler, who has played in 15 games as a reserve, will be lone senior recognized prior to Saturday's game. Nistler served as a practice player as a sophomore and junior before being added to the roster as a walk-on last summer. He will be joined by four-year student managers Logan Breen and Josh Gray in the pregame acknowledgment.
Gearing up for the WCC Tournament...
Santa Clara is currently tied for sixth in the West Coast Conference standings and Saturday's Pacific game will help determine seeding for the league tournament which is being held March 3-8 in Las Vegas. The Broncos are tied with Portland and Pacific with 6-11 records, though the Tigers will not play in the tournament. Santa Clara could be anywhere from the No. 6 to No. 8 seed. The Broncos will be the No. 6 seed with a win vs. Pacific as it holds the tiebreaker vs. Portland by virtue of two regular season wins. If the Broncos lose, they could still gain the No. 6 seed in a three-way tie with Portland and Loyola Marymount (5-12). Santa Clara has a 3-1 record against those two teams.
Former Coach Carroll Williams Honored...
Former head basketball coach and director of athletics Carroll Williams is being honored this weekend as the 2015 Bronco Legend. He joined the Santa Clara coaching staff in 1963 and became head coach in 1971. During the next 22 years, his teams won 344 games, recorded six 22-win seasons, and made five postseason appearances. He was named athletic director in 1992 and the Broncos won 19 conference championships during his eight-year tenure. He served on the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship Committee from 1996-2000. He was inducted into the SCU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987 and the San Jose Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. He will be acknowledged during the first half of Saturday's Pacific game.
Tidbits...
• With 16 points in Thursday's Saint Mary's game, Jared Brownridge (1,657) moved from 10th to ninth on the school's career list, passing Londale Theus (1,643/1978-80). Brownridge needs 10 more to reach John Bryant (1,667/2005-09) in eighth.
• Matt Hubbard missed the Saint Mary's game due to concussion protocol. The sophomore had started the previous two games and averaged 8.7 points in the last seven contests. He played in the first 28 games this season. Nate Kratch replaced him in the starting lineup
• After missing 21 of the last 22 games, Jarvis Pugh (knee) played as a reserve Thursday vs. the Gaels. Pugh played 14 minutes and scored four points with five rebounds.
• Brownridge has scored 20 or more points 13 times this season, including 10 of the last 19 games. He has posted 30-plus points in three games, including a career-high 44 vs. Arizona (Nov. 26) in the Wooden Legacy. 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 41 of 46 free throws (89.1 percent). He has improved from 59.1 to 80.6 percent from the line in the last 14 games. Feagin has moved to No. 6 in the WCC in free-throw percentage, second 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 14 games, three or more players have reached double figures nine times. The Broncos are 8-7 when at least three players reach double figures, including 3-0 with four players scoring 10 or more.
Scouting the Tigers...
The Tigers snapped a four-game losing streak with Thursday's 79-70 home win against San Francisco. Guard Alec Kobre, who hit a game-winning shot in Pacific's first meeting this season with Santa Clara, leads the team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and Ray Bowles is second (11.0). Eric Thompson is averaging 9.5 ppg and a team-best 6.7 rebounds per game. The Tigers are fifth in the WCC in field-goal percentage (44.0) and fourth in opponent field-goal percentage (42.7).
The Pacific Series...
The Broncos have a 92-44 edge in a series that dates back to 1905. This is the third season the Tigers have been a member of the West Coast Conference, with the series 3-all in that time. But the teams have faced each other every season since 1994-95. The 136 games played are the fifth-most among all-time opponents.
By The Numbers…
3...Jared Brownridge is third in the WCC in minutes played (35.7 pg).
5...Jared Brownridge is one of only five players in the NCAA to rank in the top 50 in both made free throws (t-49th at 139) and 3-pointers (t-24th at 84) this year. Josh Adams of Wyoming (8th in FTs/t-18th in 3FGs), Stefan Moody of Ole Miss (6th in FTs/t-26th in 3FGs), Elijah Brown of New Mexico (9th in FTs/t-47th in 3FGs) and Frank Eaves of Appalachian St. (t-38th in FTs/t-41st in 3FGs) are the others.
6...KJ Feagin is sixth in the WCC in free-throw percentage (80.6).
8...The Broncos have used eight different starting lineups this season (page 26). They had used the same one for 12 games until adjusting vs. LMU (Feb. 18).
10...Jared Brownridge (1,657) needs 10 more points to move from ninth to eighth on the school's career scoring list. John Bryant (1,667/2005-09) is currently eighth.
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