Audio: Werner Nistler Halftime Interview (vs. Pacific)
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Pacific and Santa Clara men's basketball played a game down to the wire for the second time this season.
Fortunately for the Broncos they got a tremendous second-half performance from Jared Brownridge, who scored 26 of his game-high 29 points after the break, and they outlasted Pacific, 69-65, in the regular-season finale for both West Coast Conference teams.
KJ Feagin scored 17 points and dished out five assists with no turnovers, Nate Kratch tallied 11 points and nine rebounds on senior night for the Broncos, who will be seeded sixth in next week's WCC Tournament in Las Vegas and face No. 3 seed BYU Saturday in quarterfinal action.
T.J. Wallace scored 16 points, Eric Thompson had a double-double (13 points/17 rebounds) and Ray Bowles tallied 13 for the Tigers (8-20, 6-12), who played their final game of the season as they are not eligible for postseason play due to sanctions.
After connecting on only 1 of 12 field goal attempts in the first half, Brownridge went 4-for-5 (all 3-pointers) to start second half as the Broncos (11-19, 7-11) erased a 13-point deficit with a 15-0 run.
The junior guard, who was 7-for-24 from the field overall, hit three 3-pointers in a span of 1:25, his final one giving the Broncos a 43-41 lead, their first of the game, with 13:14 left.
"Jared was a big factor in the second half," Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating said.
The Tigers tied the game twice in the final 13 minutes, but were never able to reclaim the lead.
Brownridge's runner with 1:35 left made it 62-54, but Wallace hit a layup and D.J. Ursery rebounded one of Thompson's missed free throws. Ursery's 3-point play cut the deficit to 63-60 with 25 seconds left.
But Brownridge hit all six of his free throw attempts in the final 24 seconds and the Tigers only got as close as 2 points.
"That was a really good team win," Keating said. "I'm really proud for our seniors that they could finish with a win."
The Broncos, who have 10 freshmen and sophomores on the roster, have only one senior. Reserve guard Werner Nistler, who joined the team as a walk-on last summer, has played in 16 games and earned the start tonight.
In the last meeting between the teams, missed free throws down the stretch helped the Tigers prevail. After Feagin missed a pair from the line, leading scorer Alec Kobre, who had only six points on 2-for-10 from the floor, nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as Pacific won 73-72 in overtime in the conference opener for both teams on Dec. 21.
After shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, the Tigers went only 12-for-32 (38 percent), including 2 of 12 on 3-pointers, in the second half.
That dropoff was due in part to a change in defense as the Broncos, as they have done a number of times in the second half of the season, switched to a 2-3 zone early in the second half.
"We needed to change the flow," Keating said. "They were beating us up in the first half. It had an effect on all of us. We were five for our first 20 [from the field]."
When the Broncos made their game-changing 15-0 run early in the second half, the Tigers missed both of their shots and committed three of their 12 turnovers. Santa Clara only had seven turnovers in the game.
"The key to our team is not turning the ball over," Keating said. "When we don't turn it over we give ourselves a chance."
Pacific twice pushed the lead to double figures in the first half, but the Broncos rallied with Feagin and Kratch leading a 7-0 run. Trailing 25-15, Kratch scored a pair of inside buckets and Feagin nailed a 3-pointer with 2:09 on the clock.
Kratch had his most offensive production since scoring 15 points vs. Pepperdine (Jan. 14), a span of 11 games.
"He stayed with it tonight," Keating said. "His rebounds were big as well.
Senior Night: Prior to the game, in their last home appearance, reserve guard Werner Nistler and student managers Logan Breen and Josh Gray were recognized. Nistler made his first career start, opening the game in place of Kai Healy. "Proud for our seniors that they could finish their time here on a win," Kerry Keating said. "Certainly Werner who earned a spot on the roster and get a start tonight. Logan and Josh have put in four good years with our program. I'm really proud of those guys."
Williams Honored: Former head basketball coach and director of athletics Carroll Williams was honored this weekend as the 2016 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 was acknowledged, along with his wife during the first half of the game.
Notes: The Broncos trotted out their ninth different starting lineup of the season with senior Werner Nistler replacing Kai Healy. Jared Brownridge, KJ Feagin, Nate Kratch and Emmanuel Ndumanya were the other starters … with 29 points, Brownridge passed two all-time greats on the Santa Clara scoring list. He now has 1,686 career points, moving from ninth to seventh after passing John Bryant (1,667/2005-09) and Dennis Awtrey (1,675/1967-70). Brownridge needs just three more points to reach Steve Nash (1,689/1992-96) in sixth place … tonight's crowd of 3,808 was a season high … Brownridge was 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. It marked only the seventh time in Leavey Center history a player has been perfect from the line with more than 10 attempts, including second occurrence by Brownridge - Michael Smith (12 of 12) of Brigham Young (12-30-86); DeWayne Lewis (11 of 11) of Santa Clara (vs. Portland, 1-25-92; vs. USF, 1-14-93); Steve Nash (21 of 21) of Santa Clara (vs. Saint Mary's, 1-7-95); Brownridge (13 of 13) vs. Portland (1-2-16) … the Broncos are now 6-7 in games decided by four points or less, including wins in the last four.
The Pacific Series: The Broncos now have a 93-44 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. The Broncos now lead 4-3 in that time. But the teams have faced each other every season since 1994-95. The 137 games played are the fifth-most among all-time opponents.
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