Santa Clara Ticket Information
SPOKANE, Wash. – Santa Clara men's basketball saw its three-game road-winning streak come to an end at the hands of the top-ranked team in the nation on Saturday.
Jordan Mathews scored 16 points and Josh Perkins added 15 to lead five players in double figures for Gonzaga, which extended its school-record winning streak to 24 games with a 90-55 victory over the Broncos at McCarthey Athletic Center.
Przemek Karnowski bulldozed his way to 12 points for the Bulldogs (24-0, 12-0), who shot 61 percent from the floor, including 8 of 16 from behind the 3-point line. Zach Collins came off the bench to score 14 points and haul in eight rebounds. Killian Tillie chipped in 10 of Gonzaga's 36 bench points.
KJ Feagin posted a team-best 18 points and Jared Brownridge tallied 13 for Santa Clara (13-11, 7-5), which shot 39 percent from the floor.
Gonzaga pulled away early in the second half as Mathews provided the spark with leading scorer Nigel Williams-Goss sitting out due to an ankle injury. Mathews scored eight of the team's first 10 points after halftime to help the lead grow to 47-30.
After turning the ball over a total of 13 times in the previous two games, the Broncos committed 12 turnovers on Saturday, leading to 15 Gonzaga points.
Santa Clara, which had won five of its last seven games, needed production throughout its injury-depleted, seven-man rotation to pull the upset, but Matt Hauser (seven) and Nate Kratch (five), who both average double figures in scoring, were held to a combined 12 points.
Hauser's first basket came with less than 10 minutes remaining in the game, but by that time the lead had increased to 68-37.
Foul trouble hurt the Broncos with reserve Henrik Jadersten being disqualified after only seven minutes of action. Emmanuel Ndumanya picked up his fourth foul with 14:24 remaining in the game.
The 23 personal fouls led to Gonzaga attempting 30 free throws, the most by a Santa Clara opponent this season.
The Broncos had a promising start to the night, nailing 4 of 5 3-pointers to build a 16-12 lead, but the Bulldogs went on a 9-0 run that Karnowski capped off with a layup for two of his eight first-half points, all coming within three feet of the basket.
While the Broncos went cold from the floor (1 of 9 in the final 6:00), Perkins helped the Bulldogs build a 37-24 lead by nailing of pair of 3-pointers in the final 63 seconds of the opening half.
Santa Clara entered the game averaging a league-best 9.6 3-pointers per game, but was able to connect on only five and missed 10 of its final 11 attempts.
Brownridge moved to fifth on the West Coast Conference all-time scoring list (2,172) and became the career scoring leader in league games (1,195).
The loss drops the Broncos into a tie for fourth place in the West Coast Conference standings with San Francisco, which downed Loyola Marymount 74-64 earlier in the evening.
Santa Clara plays two more on the road next week, traveling to the North Bay Area on Thursday to face the Dons, followed by a matchup against Pacific on Saturday.
Team Notes: Tonight's game was the 88th meeting in the series, which began in 1946. The Bulldogs won their 14th-straight game against the Broncos … Gonzaga's 30 free throw attempts (20 made) were the most by an opponent this season. The Bulldogs had 28 free throw attempts in the earlier meeting this season.
Individual Notes: With 13 points, Brownridge (2,172) moved to fifth on the WCC all-time scoring list, passing Anthony Ireland of LMU (2,169/2010-14). Brownridge (1,195) also became the all-time scoring leader in league games, passing Hank Gathers of LMU (1,190/1988-90) ... Feagin scored in double figures for the 10th time in the last 11 games.
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