Men's Basketball Plays Final Nonconference Home Game Tuesday vs. UC Riverside

Men's Basketball Plays Final Nonconference Home Game Tuesday vs. UC Riverside

Ticket Information | Game Notes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball plays its final nonconference home game Tuesday when the UC Riverside Highlanders visit Leavey Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Broncos defeated Cal State East Bay, 75-50, Saturday at home with senior forward Nate Kratch scoring a season-high 19 points and sophomore guard Matt Hauser adding 15. Santa Clara held the Pioneers to 32 percent shooting from the floor, including 21 percent in the final 34 minutes. UC Riverside has not played since Nov. 30 when it fell 98-56 at then 11th-ranked UCLA.

While the Broncos (4-6) play eight of their first 11 games at home, the Highlanders (1-4) have only been at home once in their opening five.

Senior guard Jared Brownridge served more as a distributor than scorer against Cal State East Bay with 11 points and season-high tying six assists, but continues to lead the Broncos in scoring at 18.7 points per game, which ranks fifth in the West Coast Conference. Junior forward Jarvis Pugh is second on the team in scoring (11.4 ppg) and first in rebounding (5.8 pg). Hauser, the primary point guard with KJ Feagin out of the lineup, is averaging 9.4 ppg and a team-best 5.5 assists, which ranks No. 4 in the WCC. Hauser's assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.23-to-1 is first in the league and No. 9 in the country.


GAMDEDAY INFORMATION

Tickets

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Video TheW.tv
Audio 1590-AM in San Jose
Live Stats StatBroadcast.com
Game Notes Santa Clara | UC Riverside

 

Quick Hits...
• Herb Sendek is in his first season as Santa Clara head coach after three successful stops leading Division I programs. Sendek, one of the three youngest coaches with 400 or more career victories, is in his 23rd season as a head coach. He compiled a 413-295 (.583) record, including 39 victories against top 25 teams, at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio). Sendek earned coach of the year honors in the Pac-10, Atlantic Coast Conference and Mid-American Conference.
Jared Brownridge, a preseason All-WCC choice, has moved up both the Santa Clara all-time scoring list and the WCC career chart this season. During the first two games, Brownridge (1,902 points) passed Brian Jones (1,722/1996-01), Harold Keeling (1981-85/1,731) and Kurt Rambis (1976-80/1,736) on the SCU list. Brownridge has a ways to go to reach all-time leader Kevin Foster (2008-13), who had 2,423 points, placing him second in WCC history. Brownridge moved into the WCC's career top 25 scoring list (to 23rd) with 32 points in the win against Sacred Heart (Nov. 21). He jumped to 15th over the course of the three games prior to San Jose State (Dec. 3). 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 10 games. Brownridge and Hauser are averaging 36-plus minutes per game and Pugh nearly 34. Brownridge played a season-low 30 minutes against Northern Colorado (Nov. 19) due to foul trouble, but has played at least 34 minutes in the other nine contests. Hauser has played less than 34 minutes only one game while Pugh has done it three times.
KJ Feagin, the team's starting point guard and an All-WCC Freshman team pick last year, has yet to suit up this season due to a broken bone in his foot. Feagin was injured during the first week of preseason practice and is out of action indefinitely, though hopes to begin working out soon. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow (hamstring) and junior forward Matt Hubbard (ankle) have also been limited with injuries.

Trends...
• Senior guard Jared Brownridge has scored in double figures in the last 32 games, posting at least 20 points in 17 ... Brownridge went 4-for-29 (13.8 percent) on 3-pointers in the opening four games but has been more himself by hitting 26 of 58 (44.8 percent) in the last six ... sophomore guard Matt Hauser has scored in double figures five times this season, all in the last seven games. He scored in double figures four times in 2015-16 ... in the UC Irvine contest (Nov. 30), Hauser knocked down a career-high four three-pointers and also dished out six assists, the fifth time in the previous six games he delivered five or more helpers ... junior forward Jarvis Pugh has scored in double figures in five contests this season 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 occurrences in 2015-16 ... senior forward Nate Kratch rebounded from scoring a combined 10 points (4 of 19 FGs) in the previous two games by tallying a season-high 19 (on 8 of 11 FGs) Saturday against Cal State East Bay ... after not seeing action in the first seven games, junior center Emmanuel Ndumanya has played in the last three, appearing in a season-high 21 minutes Saturday vs. Cal State East Bay. He scored six points and posted nine rebounds, tying for the most by a Bronco this season (Kratch vs. UC Irvine, Nov. 30; Pugh vs. Northern Arizona, Nov. 11).
• After producing their top two field-goal shooting performances of the season (53.3 percent vs. N. Colorado, Nov. 19; 54.5 vs. Sacred Heart, Nov. 21), the Broncos hit just 37.3 percent in the following four games. They did hit 47 percent from the field, including 52 percent in the second half, vs. Vanderbilt (Nov. 25), but 40 or less in the other three contests. However, the Broncos shot 50 percent in Saturday's victory over Cal State East Bay.
• 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 78.1 percent at the line ... after shooting only 45 free throws in the previous four games, the Broncos attempted 35 (hitting 21) in Saturday's Cal State East Bay game.

Scouting UC Riverside...
Under head coach Dennis Cutts, the UC Riverside Highlanders are 1-4 on the season. The matchup against the Broncos will be the first game for UCR since it fell to UCLA, 98-56, on Nov. 30. Three Highlanders average 10 or more points per game with junior guard Chance Murray, a transfer from Arizona State, leading the way at 12.2. Freshman guard Dkymbe Martin pours in 11.0 points per game and he also leads the team in assists at 2.4 pg. Martin also leads the Big West Conference in steals per game at 2.0. Senior forward Secean Jackson is scoring 10.6 ppg and is also second on the squad in rebounding (5.0 pg). Junior forward Alex Larsson leads the league in offensive rebounds per game (3.25).

The UC Riverside Series...
The Broncos and Highlanders have met just twice. Santa Clara downed UC Riverside, 63-61, in the opening round of the Cable Car Classic on Dec. 28, 2005. The Highlanders won 77-63 last season in Riverside behind 20 points apiece from Secean Johnson and Jaylen Bland. Nate Kratch had his first-career double-double (22 points/12 rebounds).

Notables...
• Santa Clara has a number of missing pieces in its rotation this season. Sophomore point guard KJ Feagin broke a bone in his foot during the first week of preseason practice and has yet to play a game. Sophomore guard Evan Wardlow has been injured most of the last two seasons. He was relegated to seven games last year due to a wrist injury and has seen only 54 minutes of action this year because to a hamstring injury. Junior forward Matt Hubbard had offseason ankle surgery and has only been able to play 51 minutes in six games. Hubbard played in all but three games his first two seasons.
• Injuries to Feagin, Hubbard and Wardlow have forced the Broncos to shorten rotation. Guards Jared Brownridge and Matt Hauser, and forwards Nate Kratch and Jarvis Pugh have started all 10 games, logging an average of 29-plus minutes per game. Brownridge, Hauser and Pugh have seen the most time, averaging 33 or more minutes per contest. Forwards Henrik Jadersten (22.2 minutes pg) and guard Kai Healy (18.5) are the only other players to see action in all 10 games and play at least 10 minutes each outing.
• 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 (Nov. 21).
• With 36 points vs. Vanderbilt (Nov. 25), Brownridge, who earned a spot of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Invitational tournament team, posted his ninth-career game of 30 or more points, the most in school history. He was tied with the school's all-time leading scorer Kevin Foster.
• 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 10 games, averaging 2.2 points in 7.7 minutes.

Tickets: Click here to purchase tickets online or contact the ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Group discounts are also available through our ticket office sales and service consultants. Doors to Leavey Center, as well as its ticket office, are open one hour prior to the start of the first game.  

Parking: Parking is $10 in the main campus parking structure, which is located on Palm Drive through the main entrance. The Leavey Center parking lot, located on Accolti Way off El Camino Real, is reserved for season-ticket holders. Click here for a campus map and parking restrictions.

Radio/Live Stream: Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (color) will call the action vs. UC Riverside for the Broncos via 1590 AM in San Jose and the TheW.tv. 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). KLIV 1590 AM is broadcasting 25 Santa Clara games this season and a selected few will can be heard on KSCU 103.3 FM and KDOW 1220 AM.

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