Men's Basketball Posts Convincing 73-59 Victory Over Pepperdine

Men's Basketball Posts Convincing 73-59 Victory Over Pepperdine

Santa Clara TicketsAUDIO: Halftime Interview with Healy

MALIBU, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball put together one of its most complete performances of the season to knock off Pepperdine.

Henry Caruso scored a season-high 23, KJ Feagin tallied 18 points to reach a career milestone and Emmanuel Ndumanya posted his first-career double-double (13 points/10 rebounds) to lead the Broncos to a convincing 73-59 win over the Waves on Saturday afternoon.

Santa Clara (8-14, 5-5) shot 55 percent from the field, best in West Coast Conference play this season, including a 10-for-21 effort behind the 3-point line and held a 33-26 rebounding edge over the Waves (4-18, 1-9).

Kamerson Edwards scored a team-best 19 and Trae Berhow posted 15 points for the Waves who snapped an 11-game skid with Thursday's last-second 71-70 home win over Loyola Marymount.

The Broncos, who ended a two-game losing streak, started to pull away early in the second half.

After Ndumanya's dunk increased the lead to 46-35 with 16:37 left in the game, both teams went scoreless for nearly three minutes.

But Santa Clara scored the next seven, capped by a driving layup from Kai Healy, who posted eight points and three assists, with 13 minutes left. Healy has started the last two games, replacing an injured Matt Hauser against Pepperdine.

The lead eventually grew to 61-41 on a Healy 3-pointer and the Waves, who were held to 38 percent from the floor, including 6 of 19 on 3-pointers, never got closer than 14 the remainder of the game.

Caruso connected on 7 of 13 from the floor, including a career-high tying 4 of 8 from beyond the 3-point line. He also had eight rebounds and a pair of steals.

The Broncos had one of their best halves of the season in the opening 20 minutes, sharing the ball and playing solid defense.

Pepperdine overcame an early deficit with a 10-3 spurt that gave the Waves a 16-13 lead, but Santa Clara reeled off the next nine points.

With 4 minutes left, the lead grew to 33-22 on turnaround jumper in the lane by Caruso.

Feagin (12) and Caruso (11) combined for 23 of the team's 35 first half points. Feagin's jumper with 14:21 left in the opening half gave him 1,000 career points. He became the 34th player in school history to reach that milestone.

Santa Clara had nine assists on 13 first half baskets and held the Waves to 39 percent from the floor.

Feagin played all 40 minutes, along with Caruso and Healy, and posted five assists while hitting 8 of 15 from the floor.

Edwards (9 of 19) and Berhow (5 of 9) combined to hit 14 of 28 from the floor, but the rest of the team was only 9 of 33.

HIGHLIGHTS

NEXT UP
The Broncos are home next week for two games. They face Pacific on Thursday and San Francisco on Saturday. Both games start at 8 p.m.

NOTES
KJ Feagin, Kai Healy, Henry Caruso, Josip Vrankic and Kai Healy started as a group for the first time this season. Healy made his second-straight start. Matt Hauser sat out with a foot injury suffered in Thursday's San Diego game.
• The series began in 1956 and the Broncos now holds a 77-59 lead, including wins in the last four, though the series has been even in recent years. Entering last season, the teams had split the previous 10 games. The Broncos have won four of the last six games in Firestone Fieldhouse, including a 75-61 victory last season.
• Feagin entered the game needing to score five to reach 1,000 career points. He didn't take him long to do it. He nailed a 3-pointer with 17:46 left in the first half and connected on a jumper just more than 3 minutes later. He ended the game with 1,015 career points and now ranks 33rd on the school's all-time scoring list. The junior was the 34th player to reach the milestone. He passed Glen Hubbard (1,012/1972-76) on the all-time scoring list.

QUOTES
"We played a good all-around game. Great road victory for us despite being a little shorthanded with guys coming off the flu. We showed some great character and fortitude.

"We got outstanding play from several players. Certainly Henry (Caruso) had a tremendous game. He scored from behind the arc and in the post. He always gives you everything he has. He's one of those guys coming off the flu bug.

"KJ (Feagin) played an outstanding game. He continues to lead us in so many ways and is a real offensive weapon. Kai Healy, one of our seniors, with three assists and no turnovers, playing the entire 40 minutes. And then Emmanuel (Ndumanya) he continues to get better. Now he's making his free throws like Rick Barry and he chips in a double-double."

Head coach Herb Sendek

Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
• Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
• Men's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat