Single-Game Tickets | WCC Ticket Mini-Plans | Game Notes

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball opens a three-game homestand on Monday when Valparaiso visits Leavey Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

The Broncos (3-7) have dropped their last two after winning two in a row. The Crusaders (8-3) won their first eight games of the season but lost their last three, including a pair to Big Ten foes.

• On Thursday, junior forwards Bennie Boatwright (21 points/11 rebounds) and Chimezie Metu (20 points/11 rebounds) each had double-doubles to lead USC to an 82-59 victory over Santa Clara, in just its second road game of the season. Freshman Josip Vrankic scored 15 points and junior guard KJ Feagin added 10 for the Broncos who shot a season-low 31 percent from the floor in a game they trailed from the start.

• After playing five games in 11 days, the Broncos will be in action for just the third time in 16 days on Monday.

• The Broncos saw their two-game winning streak end behind the impressive shooting of Portland State, which overcame a 17-point second-half deficit by connecting on its last 16 field goal attempts in an 87-84 win on Dec. 9. Feagin tallied a season-high tying 24 points and junior guard Matt Hauser scored a career-high 22 for the Broncos who held a 38-24 rebounding edge and shot 51 percent from the floor, but committed 14 turnovers. Deontae North (career-high tying 30) and Holland Woods (career-high 26) combined for 56 points to lead the Vikings to their fourth-straight win.

• The Broncos will enjoy some home cooking through the end of the year as they are in a stretch of six of seven games in Leavey Center.

• Feagin leads the team and ranks second in the WCC in scoring (18.0 ppg) on 50.4 percent FG shooting. Senior guard/forward Henry Caruso is second in scoring (12.6 ppg) and first with 7.0 rebounds per game, which ranks sixth in the league. Vrankic (11.5 ppg) and Hauser (10.6 ppg) are both averaging in double figures. Hauser averaged 20.5 points over the previous two outings, but was held to three vs. USC. Vrankic ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.7 pg) and Hauser averages 3.9 assists per game, No. 8 in the WCC.
• The Broncos have held on to the ball, registering just 11.3 turnovers per game and posting a +2.7 pg turnover margin (first in the WCC), as well as shooting the ball from the floor (45.6 percent) at a decent clip, but opponents are shooting 49.3 percent from the floor, including 43.6 on 3-pointers.

 

YEAR TWO UNDER SENDEK
The Broncos are in their 111th year of existence, including second under Herb Sendek, who has been successful in each of his three previous head-coaching stops. With a resume that includes 18 postseason appearances and three conference coach of the year awards, Sendek, was one of the three youngest coaches with 400 or more career victories He is in his 24th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).

QUICK HITS
• Santa Clara and Valparaiso, which is a member of the Horizon League, will be playing for the second time. The teams met last season at Valpo with Jared Brownridge scoring 30 points, including eight after the end of regulation, to lead Santa Clara to a thrilling 87-80 double overtime win.
• The Crusaders, who lost to Purdue and Northwestern earlier this month, are led by guard Tevonn Walker (16.4 ppg), but he missed the last two games. Joe Burton (11.2 ppg) and Bakari Evelyn (10.1) are also averaging in double figures.

TRENDS
After connecting on 39 of 87 (44.8 percent) from beyond the 3-point line in the previous three games, the Broncos were just 9-for-32 (28.2 percent) against USC on Thursday ... Santa Clara either out-rebounded (+5 vs. N. Arizona, Nov. 30; +14 vs. Portland St., Dec. 9) or were even (vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Dec. 2) in the previous three games, before the Trojans held a 52-27 edge on the glass ... KJ Feagin has reached double figures in scoring in all 10 games and Henry Caruso in eight ... Caruso, a 76-percent free-throw shooter at Princeton, has connected on a WCC-best 90.1 percent (37 of 41) from the line this season ... Josip Vrankic has started the last seven games and scored in double figures in the most recent six ... Caruso has connected on 16 of 32 (50 percent) field goal attempts during the last three games ... Matt Hauser, who has scored in double figures six times, has hit 14 of 24 (58.3 percent) of his 3-pointers in the last three games ... Vrankic averaged 19.0 minutes in the four games and 32.3 in the last six ... Caruso played all but 1 minute, 34 seconds in a three-game stretch (Cal Poly on Nov. 18, through Alaska-Anchorage, Nov. 23). He was subbed out for 17 seconds in the second half of the Idaho contest (Nov. 22) and for 1:17 in the first half vs. Alaska-Anchorage (Nov. 23) ... Jarvis Pugh, Hauser, Feagin, Caruso and Vrankic started vs. USC. Facing an athletic frontcourt, Pugh subbed in for Emmanuel Ndumanya who had started the last 33 games, most on the team.

RADIO/LIVE STREAM
Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst) will call the action during the season on radio and through TheW.tv at home. 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). There will be 22 games, including the Valparaiso matchup, on KDOW AM-1220 or KTRB-AM 860 this season. View the 2017-18 schedule for broadcast outlets.

TICKETS
Single-game and mini-plan ticket options for WCC home games are available for purchase. For questions, contact the Santa Clara ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu. Doors to Leavey Center will be open 60 minutes prior to the start of the game.

FAN EXPERIENCE PACKAGES
Group-ticket options and Fan Experience Packages are available through the Santa Clara ticket office, which is open weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Contact Jesse Moreno, one of our sales and service consultants, at (408) 554-4628 or jmoreno@scu.edu for further details.

PARKING
Parking is $10 in the main campus parking structure, which is located on Palm Drive through the main entrance (500 El Camino Drive). 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.

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