Men's Basketball Plays Another Road Game, Faces Pacific Saturday

Men's Basketball Plays Another Road Game, Faces Pacific Saturday

Santa Clara Tickets | Game NotesAUDIO: Chatting with Coach Sendek on KDOW AM-1220 (Feb. 14, 2018)

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball finishes its season series with Pacific on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. from Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, California.

The Broncos (10-17, 7-8) have won their last two games, including a gritty road victory over Portland on Thursday. The Tigers (14-14, 9-6) are one of the hottest teams in the West Coast Conference having won four of their last five, including two straight. They are coming off a 67-55 triumph at San Diego.

Pacific is fourth in the WCC standings, two games ahead of Santa Clara, San Diego and San Francisco, all tied for fifth.

• Senior center Emmanuel Ndumanya posted a career-high 23 points and freshman forward Josip Vrankic tallied 19 points, including 16 after halftime, to help lead the Broncos to a 81-72 win over Portland. Junior guard KJ Feagin totaled 15 points, including 13 in the second half, and seven assists, and senior guard/forward Henry Caruso scored 11 for Santa Clara, which shot 53 percent from the floor and led for nearly the entire second half.
• On Saturday, Feagin delivered a career performance to help Santa Clara overcome an 11-point second-half deficit against San Diego to win 70-64. Feagin posted career-highs in points (32) and field goals (14). Caruso scored 12, including the 1,000th point of his career, and grabbed nine rebounds, and Vrankic added 10 points and a career-best four blocks. Cameron Neubauer posted a season-high 18 points and Isaiah Wright added 16 for the Toreros.
• Feagin ranks fourth in the WCC in scoring (17.7 ppg) and eighth in assists (4.2 pg). Caruso is second on the team in scoring (12.0 ppg) and first with 6.7 rebounds per game (No. 7 in the league). Vrankic is third on the team in scoring (10.9 ppg), second in rebounding (4.9 pg) and first in blocks (24). Junior guard Matt Hauser, who has missed the last six games with a foot injury, is averaging 9.8 ppg and ranks fourth in the WCC in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2-to-1). Hauser was injured against San Diego (Jan. 25), playing only nine minutes. Feagin (2.1) and Hauser (2.0) rank sixth and eighth, 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 (18th), and top 10 in rebounds, steals (eighth - 1.3 pg) and FT percentage (eighth - 82.1). Guard Elijah Bryant of BYU is second in scoring (17.9 ppg), eighth in rebounding (6.5 pg), tied for ninth in steals (1.3 pg) and first in FT percentage (87.1).

GAMEDAY INFORMATION

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Video Stream
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Radio KTRB-AM 860
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Game Notes Santa Clara | Pacific

 

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 11.2 turnovers per game and possessing a +1.7 turnover margin (first in the WCC). The Tigers are third at +0.9.
• Pacific hits 49.5 percent of its 2-point field-goal attempts, but only 32.8 on 3-pointers (ninth in WCC). The Tigers are fourth in the league in steals (6.4 pg) and 10th in 3-point FG per game (4.7).
• Roberto Gallinat, one of six Pacific players posting at least 8.0 ppg, leads the team in scoring (13.5). Miles Reynolds is second (13.4) and Jahlil Tripp third (10.5). Tripp is fifth in the WCC in rebounding (7.6 pg). Namdi Okonkwo is first in the league in blocks (2.6 pg).

THE PACIFIC SERIES
The Broncos have a 95-45 edge in a series that dates to 1905. This is the fifth season the Tigers have been a member of the West Coast Conference, with the Broncos leading 6-4 in that span. But the teams have faced each other every season since 1994-95. The 140 games played are the fifth-most among Santa Clara opponents. In this year's first meeting. Miles Reynolds posted 23 points and Lafayette Dorsey came off the bench to score 14 for Pacific, which controlled the interior in posting a 63-45 win (Feb. 1).

TRENDS
The Broncos have connected on 52.9 percent (55 of 104) from the floor in the last two games after hitting only 38.9 percent (63 of 162) in the previous three ... KJ Feagin has connected on 48.5 percent from the floor (47 of 97) in the last six games ... Emmanuel Ndumanya has posted the three highest point totals of his career in the last seven games, including a career-best 23 vs. Portland on Saturday. He has shot 36 of 61 from the floor (59.0 percent) in the last 12 ... Santa Clara has posted 38 of its 64 blocks in the last nine games, including a season-best seven vs. San Diego (Feb. 10) ... Feagin has reached double figures in all but three games (nine points vs. Gonzaga, Dec. 30; nine points vs. BYU, Jan. 13; nine points vs. San Diego, Jan. 25) ... Feagin has 10 of the team's 17 20-point scoring games this year ... a career 54 percent free-throw shooter, Ndumanya has made 31 of his last 43 from the line (72.1 percent) ... Henry Caruso has been off the floor for only 13 minutes in the last nine games.

RADIO/LIVE STREAM
Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst) 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). During the season, 22 games are carried on KDOW AM-1220 or KTRB-AM 860. Saturday's game at Pacific can be heard on KTRB-AM 860. View the 2017-18 schedule for broadcast outlets.

TICKETS
Single-game tickets are available for contests at Leavey Center. The Broncos have one home contest remaining - Feb. 22 vs. LMU (Senior Day). Purchase options are available online or by contacting the Santa Clara ticket office weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. at (408) 554-4660 or BroncoTickets@scu.edu.

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.

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