Santa Clara Men's Basketball Ticket Information | Game Notes

LAS VEGAS – Santa Clara dropped its first game in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational on Thanksgiving night as No. 8/9 Arizona held off the Broncos for a 69-61 victory. Jared Brownridge scored a game-high 25 points, but Lauri Markkanen scored 16 points and Kobi Simmons added 14 for the Wildcats who shot 48 percent from the field and held Santa Clara 40 percent. The Broncos were within a basket in the last three minutes but missed their final four shots while the Wildcats hit 3 of 4 from the free-throw line in the final 33 seconds.

Santa Clara closes out its two-game stint at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas on Friday with the first-ever meeting with Vanderbilt (5 p.m. PT on FOX Sports 1), which lost to Butler Thursday.

Brownridge is scoring a team-high 18.2 ppg, including 28.5 in the last two games. He is also third in rebounding (4.5 pg) and second in assists (3.5 pg). Brownridge went 4-for-29 (13.8 percent) on 3-pointers in the opening four games but has exploded by hitting 13 of 29 (44.8 percent) in the last two games  Pugh is second in scoring (14.5 ppg) and first in rebounding (6.0 pg) on the team. Hauser is averaging 7.8 ppg and a team-best 6.8 assists, which ranks 15th nationally.

Quick Hits...
• Jared Brownridge, a preseason All-WCC choice, moved from fifth to second on the school's all-time scoring list (1,825 points) during the first two games of the season. He passed Brian Jones (1,722/1996-01), Harold Keeling (1981-85/1,731) and Kurt Rambis (1976-80/1,736). Brownridge has a ways to go to reach all-time leader Kevin Foster (2008-13), who had 2,423 points. Brownridge did move into the WCC's career top 25 scoring list (to 23rd) with 32 points in Monday's win against Sacred Heart. With 25 points vs. Arizona, he moved to 20th on that list, passing Clint Richardson of Seattle (1976-79/1,803), Darrell Tucker of San Francisco (1999-03/1,805) and Matt Santangelo of Gonzaga (1997-00/1,810). Brownridge is on pace to become only the 11th player in league history to score 2,000 or more career points.  
• Brownridge, Matt Hauser, Nate Kratch and Jarvis Pugh have started all four games. Brownridge, Hauser and Pugh are averaging 35-plus minutes per game. Brownridge played a season-low 30 minutes Saturday against Northern Colorado due to foul trouble, while Pugh went all 40 minutes. Hauser played all but one minute Monday against Sacred Heart. Brownridge (39) and Kratch (39+) nearly went the distance vs. Arizona.
• Hauser (16 points/10 assists vs. N. Colorado, Nov. 19) became the first Santa Clara player to post double digit points and assists in the same game since Evan Roquemore (14 points/11 assists) against Pacific (Dec. 17, 2011). He followed that up with his second career double-double (14 points/11 assists) vs. Sacred Heart on Monday.

Notables...
• Senior  guard Jared Brownridge has scored in double figures in the last 28 games, posting at least 20 points 15 times ... Matt Hauser posted a career-high six rebounds Thursday vs. Arizona, which also led the team ... senior forward Nate Kratch saw a then season-high 38 minutes of action vs. Northern Colorado (Nov. 19) and produced season bests in points (17 on 7 of 11 FGs) and rebounds (seven) ... after connecting on one of his first 16 attempts from behind the 3-point line, Matt Hauser has hit six of his last 14 ... Jarvis Pugh scored in double figures in the first four games after reaching 10 points just twice in his previous 42 career games ... sophomore forward Henrik Jadersten has scored in double figures four times this season after only three occurences in 2015-16. He has connected on eight of his last 11 FG attempts and is hitting 41.7 percent from behind the 3-point line this season.
• After producing their top two field-goal shooting performances of the season (53.3 percent vs. N. Colorado; 54.5 vs. Sacred Heart), the Broncos were held to 40 percent vs. Arizona, though 38.7 from behind the 3-point line. Santa Clara combined to shoot a blistering 44.1 percent from behind the 3-point line in the previous two contests. However, over the last three outings, the opposition had its best shooting performances from the field (N. Colorado - 50 percent; Sacred Heart - 46 percent; Arizona - percents).
• Brownridge and Pugh have combined to shoot 51 of the team's 82 free throws at a 78-percent clip ... Pugh made 8 of 9 free throws in the season opener vs. N. Arizona (Nov. 11). He made only eight (on 17 attempts) all of last season when he was relegated to 10 games due to injury. Pugh is shooting a team-best 83.3 percent at the line.
• The Broncos return 10 players who saw action last year. Tony Lewis redshirted in his first year with Santa Clara. Additions include freshman Julian Roche and junior Akil Douglas, both of whom signed with the program in the spring. Freshman Johnny Sawyer and sophomore Evan Crawford were added to the roster in the summer and senior guard Will Burkett prior to the season, all as non-scholarship players. Lewis has played in all six games, averaging 2.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 9.0 minutes. Crawford saw his first career action in the Tennessee State game.
• Brownridge earned a spot on the preseason All-WCC team after averaging 20.6 points per game in 2015-16, which was first in the league and 21st nationally. He was also placed on the preseason watch list for the 2016-17 Lou Henson Award, which honors the top mid-major player in the nation. Brownridge made the same list last season.

Scouting Vanderbilt...
The Commodores have a 2-3 record in Bryce Drew's first season as head coach. Junior wing Matthew Fisher-Davis is the top scorer on the team, averaging 14.2 points per game and shooting 44.8 percent on 3-pointers. Luke Kornet, one of just two seniors on the team, is a presence inside. Along with his 11 blocks on the season, the 7-1 forward scores 13.6 points and grabs 5.6 rebounds a game. Junior Jeff Roberson does it all for Drew's squad, dishing out 3.0 assists while also hauling in 7.8 rebounds and scoring 9.8 points per game.

Connect with the Broncos on Social Media

Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube

Men's Basketball: Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat (SantaClaraHoops)