SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball heads into its second game of the season coming off a convincing win.
On Tuesday, the Broncos (1-0) rolled past UC Santa Cruz by the score of 97-52 as six players reached double figures led by DJ Mitchell's 18 in his Santa Clara debut.
The Broncos face Cal Poly on Friday in a stretch of three straight at home to start the season. With a roster that features eight returning scholarship players and five newcomers, Santa Clara will play 13 of its 15 nonconference games in Leavey Center. West Coast Conference action kicks off on Jan. 4 with a home game vs. San Diego for the second-straight season.
The Mustangs are playing their first game of the season.
QUICK HITS...
• The Broncos return their top five scorers in Tahj Eaddy (15.0 points per game), Josip Vrankic (13.7), Trey Wertz (12.2), Keshawn Justice (9.7) and Guglielmo Caruso (6.4) from last year's team that went 16-15, including 8-8 in the WCC. Eaddy, who ranked third in the WCC in 3-pointers made (2.5 pg) and ninth in assists (3.2 pg), was a second-team all-conference pick. Vrankic earned an honorable mention nod after ranking 10th in the league in rebounding, eighth in field-goal percentage (52.0) and 10th in blocked shots (0.9 pg). Wertz led all WCC freshmen in both scoring and assists (4.7 pg). He set the Santa Clara freshman assist record (146) on his way to a spot on the WCC All-Freshman team.
• The roster, which returns 87 percent of the point production, 74 percent of the assists and 88 percent of the assists from 2018-19, features no seniors and only three juniors in Eaddy, Vrankic and DJ Mitchell who is eligible after transferring from Wake Forest last season. Juan Ducasse, who served a redshirt season due to a knee injury, is also eligible this year. The newcomers are guards David Thompson, Giordan Williams, Jalen Williams and Miguel Tomley, and center Jaden Bediako. Thompson is a junior-college transfer and the other four are true freshmen.
• Justice and Caruso were also among the most productive freshmen in the WCC last season. Justice was third on the conference's freshman scoring list and finished seventh on the school's freshman list for 3-point percentage (38.5) and tied for fourth in 3-pointers made (57). Caruso, who shot 52 percent from the field, tied for seventh in the WCC in blocked shots (1.0 pg). He also closed the season with a flourish, averaging 10.6 points and 5.9 rebounds in the last nine outings. Ezekiel Richards, another freshman in 2018-19, played in 29 games with five starts. He was first on the team in shooting from the floor at 53.1 percent.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION |
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| Tickets | Click here |
| TV | None |
| Video | WCC Network |
| Radio/Audio | KDOW-AM 1220 | TuneIn |
| Live Stats | StatBroadcast |
| Game Notes | Santa Clara | Cal Poly |
YEAR FOUR UNDER SENDEK...
The Broncos are heading into the their 113th year, including fourth 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. Having led the Broncos to winning records in two of his three seasons, he is in his 26th season as a collegiate head coach with stops at Arizona State, North Carolina State and Miami (Ohio).
CAL POLY SERIES...
The Broncos and Mustangs have met eight times and the series is even at 4-all. Cal Poly won the last meeting, 63-59, on Nov. 18 2017, in a preliminary-round game of the GCI Great Alaska Shootout. Cal Poly has won the last two in Leavey Center, also defeating Santa Clara, 69-58, in the final game of the 48th annual Cable Car Classic on Dec 23, 2014. The series began on Dec. 13, 1978, with the Broncos claiming a 77-62 win in Santa Clara.
RADIO/LIVE STREAM
Anthony Passarelli (play-by-play) and John Stege (analyst) call the action during the season on radio and through WCC Network at home. All Broncos home games and West Coast Conference contests (not on an ESPN platform, CBS Sports Network or BYUtv) will also be streamed through WCC Network (local blackout restrictions apply for games broadcast over the air). As in the past two seasons, a number of games can also be heard on either KDOW-AM 1220 or KTRB-AM 860. Friday's game against Cal Poly can be heard on KDOW-AM 1220. The complete broadcast schedule will be available once the WCC finalizes tipoff times for league games.
TICKETS
There are a number of ticket options for 2019-20, which features 21 homes, including 13 during the nonconference portion of the slate. In addition to season tickets, single-game and game-plan packages are on sale. For questions, contact the Santa Clara Athletics ticket office 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, the team leader of sales and service, 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 campus 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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