Men's Basketball Begins Bay Area Homestand, Faces Pacific Thursday

Single-Game Tickets | Game Notes | AUDIO: Chatting with Coach Sendek on KDOW AM-1220 (Jan. 31, 2018)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - After splitting a pair of games on its Southern California road trip, Santa Clara men's basketball is facing two Bay Area teams at home this week, starting with Thursday's matchup against Pacific, which is presented by Heffernan Insurance. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. in Leavey Center in the first meeting of the season between the teams, which are tied for fifth in the West Coast Conference standings.

The Broncos (8-14, 5-5) lost at San Diego on Thursday before winning at Pepperdine on Saturday. Following a four-game winning streak, the Tigers (10-13, 5-5) have dropped their last three, including an 80-65 loss at BYU on Saturday.

Santa Clara plays host to San Francisco on Saturday.

• Senior guard/forward Henry Caruso scored a season-high 23, junior guard KJ Feagin tallied 18 points, including the 1,000th of his career, and senior center 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. Santa Clara shot 55 percent from the field, its best performance in West Coast Conference play this season, including a 10-for-21 effort behind the 3-point line
• Isaiah Wright tallied a game-high 21 points, including 15 in the second half, and Juwan Gray scored 14 for San Diego, which never trailed in knocking off the Broncos, 66-58. Ndumanya came off the bench to post a career-high 15 points, including 12 in the second half, for Santa Clara, which was held to 37 percent shooting from the floor by the top defensive team in the WCC. Santa Clara's starting guards had a tough night as Feagin was held to nine points before fouling out and junior Matt Hauser missed all but the first 9 minutes with a foot injury and sat out against Pepperdine.
• Feagin ranks fourth in the WCC in scoring (17.4 ppg) and ninth in assists (3.7 pg). Caruso is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) and first with 6.8 rebounds per game (No. 7 in the league). Freshman forward Josip Vrankic is third on the team in scoring (11.0 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.1 pg). Hauser is averaging 9.8 ppg and ranks fifth in the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2-to-1). Feagin (2.2) and Hauser (2.0) rank seventh and ninth, respectively, in the WCC in 3-pointers per game.
• Caruso is one of only two players in the WCC to rank in the top 20 in scoring (16th), and top 10 in rebounds, steals (seventh - 1.3 pg) and FT percentage (10th - 80.4). Guard Elijah Bryant of BYU is second in scoring (18.2 ppg), eighth in rebounding (6.5 pg), tied for sixth in steals (1.3 pg) and first in FT percentage (89.5).

 

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
• The Broncos have generally held on to the ball, registering just 11.5 turnovers per game and possessing a +1.9 turnover margin (first in the WCC). The Tigers are second with a +1.1 turnover margin.
• Pacific hits 50.2 percent of its 2-point field-goal attempts, but only 31.9 on 3-pointers. The Tigers are third in the league in steals (6.7 pg) and 10th in 3-point FG per game (4.6).
• Roberto Gallinat, one of six Pacific players scoring at least 8.0 ppg, leads the team in scoring (13.0). Jahlil Tripp is averaging 10.6 ppg and 7.9 rebounds pg (No. 4 in the WCC). Namdi Okonkwo is second in the WCC in blocks (2.5 pg).

THE PACIFIC SERIES
The Broncos have a 95-44 edge in a series that dates back to 1905. This is the fifth season the Tigers have been a member of the West Coast Conference, with the Broncos leading 6-3 in that span. But the teams have faced each other every season since 1994-95. The 139 games played are the fifth-most among Santa Clara opponents.

VIDEO | Hear from Head coach Herb Sendek and junior guard KJ Feagin on @WCCSports home tilts against @PacificMensBB (Thursday) and @USFDonsMBB (Saturday) this week! #StampedeAhead #SCUBroncos #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/qykjyDqslU

— Santa Clara Hoops (@SantaClaraHoops) January 31, 2018

TRENDS
Emmanuel Ndumanya has posted the two highest point totals of his career in the last week (career-high 15 vs. San Diego, Jan. 25; 13 vs. Pepperdine, Jan. 27). He has shot 18 of 31 from the floor (58.1 percent) in the last seven games ... the Broncos are 7-4 this season when shooting more than 40 percent from the floor ... Santa Clara has posted 15 of its 41 blocks in the last four games, including a season-best five vs. both San Francisco (Jan. 18) and Gonzaga (Jan. 20) ... KJ Feagin has reached double figures in 19 of the team's 22 games (nine points vs. Gonzaga, Dec. 30; nine points vs. BYU, Jan. 13; nine points vs. San Diego, Jan. 25) ... Feagin has eight of the team's 14 20-point scoring games this year ... Feagin has connected on 33 of his last 37 free-throw attempts (89.2 percent) ... a career 53 percent free-throw shooter, Ndumanya has made 25 of his last 30 from the line (83.3 percent) ... after connecting on 61 of 78 (78.2) from the free-throw line in the previous five outings, including a season high 88.2 percent (15 of 17) against Pepperdine (Dec. 28), the Broncos went 4-for-11 against BYU (Jan. 13). But Santa Clara has rebounded by connecting on 57 of 79 (72.2 percent) in the last four games.

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 or BYUtv) will also be streamed through TheW.tv (local blackout restrictions apply for games broadcast over the air). There will be 22 games on KDOW-AM 1220 or KTRB-AM 860 this season. Thursday's game can be heard on KDOW-AM 1220. View the 2017-18 schedule for broadcast outlets.

TICKETS
Single-game tickets 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.

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS VS. PACIFIC
The first 1,000 fans to enter Leavey Center on Thursday will receive a "Red Stampede" t-shirt. Doors open at 7 p.m.

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS VS. SAN FRANCISCO
The first 1,000 fans in Leavey Center on Saturday will receive a Steve Nash Replica Jersey t-shirt. Doors open at 7 p.m.

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.

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