SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Freshman Khalil Spencer came off the bench to score a game-high tying 15 points on 5 of 6 shooting, all from the behind the 3-point line, to lead a balanced offensive attack for Tennessee State, which took advantage of Santa Clara turnovers in posting a 69-61 victory Sunday in the finale of the 50th Annual Cable Car Classic.
Wayne Martin scored 12 points and Jordan Reed added 11 for the Tigers (3-0) who had five players in double figures and won all three contests at Santa Clara's three-day, six-game tournament.
Jarvis Pugh had a game-high tying 15 points and six rebounds for the Broncos (1-2) who were outscored 16-4 off their 15 turnovers against a deep Tennessee State squad picked among the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference this year after posting 20-11 mark in 2015-16.
Jared Brownridge (14) and Henrik Jadersten (13) also reached double figures for Santa Clara, which held its own against the big, athletic front line of the Tigers as each team collected 34 rebounds.
Despite trailing by as many as 16 through the first 22 minutes of the game, the Broncos battled back by hitting five of their first six field goal attempts in the second half with Brownridge's 3-pointer trimming the lead to 41-35 with 14:12 left.
But the Tigers answered by scoring 11 of the next 13 points with Reed sandwiching a pair of layups around a Spencer 3-pointer, while the Broncos missed three straight shots and suffered a turnover.
Santa Clara cut the deficit back to single digits with less than nine minutes left, but a 9-0 flurry pushed the Tennessee State lead to 62-46 with 5:05 on the clock.
The Tigers went 11-for-20 from the free-throw line in the game, missing five in the final two minutes, but the Broncos weren't able to get closer than eight points down the stretch.
Santa Clara led 11-6 five minutes into the game before the Tigers went on a 15-0 with Spencer providing the spark with a pair of 3-pointers. They led by double digits the remainder of the opening half.
One night after posting a career-high 17 points against Northern Arizona, Jadersten matched his career best with a team-high eight rebounds.
Brownridge was 4-for-10 from the field but didn't attempt his first field goal until there were less than three minutes left in the first half as he was a focal point of the Tennessee State trapping defense.
Pugh connected on 5 of 10 field goal attempts and Jadersten went 5-for-11. Both hit 3 of 6 from behind the 3-point line.
Tahjere McCall and Darreon Reddick each registered 10 points for the Tigers. Martin had a game-high nine rebounds.
Twelve players saw action for Tennessee State, while the Broncos were limited to a seven-man rotation with injuries to guards KJ Feagin (foot) and Evan Wardlow (hamstring). Matt Hubbard (ankle) was able to play only three minutes.
50th Annual Cable Car Classic Results
Friday, Nov. 11
• Tennessee State 78, UC Davis 64 - Recap
• Santa Clara 67, Northern Arizona 64 - Recap
Saturday, Nov. 12
• UC Davis 63, Santa Clara - Recap
• Tennessee State 69, Northern Arizona 65 - Recap
Sunday, Nov. 13
• UC Davis 89, Northern Arizona 76 - Recap
• Tennessee State 69, Santa Clara 61
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