SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball picked up right where it left off before the holiday break with a fast start and solid defense en route to a 92-57 victory over Alcorn State on Sunday.
The win extended the school record for consecutive home wins to start the season.
Coming off an eight-day layoff, Keshawn Justice led the charge for the Broncos (13-2) with a career-high 24 points, to conclude the nonconference slate with their 15th straight home win, including 13 this year.
Trey Wertz added 17 points and eight rebounds while Josip Vrankic pulled down a game-high nine rebounds and dished out a career-high tying seven assists for the Broncos who have won five in a row.
Maurice Howard and Corey Tillery paced Alcorn State (4-7) with 11 points each and Troymain Crosby chipped in with 10 but combined to shoot just 11 of 34.
Santa Clara made Alcorn State pay for its zone defense with hot shooting from the outside, sinking 16 of 23 3-pointers in the game.
Justice scored 19 in the opening half as the Broncos shot 61 percent from the field and hit 10 3-pointers while holding Alcorn State (4-7) to 40 percent shooting to race to a 48-32 lead at the intermission.
The Broncos continued their barrage in the second half with six more 3-pointers and finished shooting 59 percent from the floor, including a season-best 70 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
The final margin was the biggest lead of the game and Alcorn State was never closer than 16 points in the second half.
Santa Clara led wire-to-wire jumping out to a 9-0 lead before eventually extending it to a 20-point edge with 2 minutes left in the opening half.
The Broncos, who had not played since a 100-71 win over Mississippi Valley State on Dec. 20, outrebounded the Braves 40-27 and had assists on 21 of the 31 made field goals.
Santa Clara also blocked a season-high seven shots.
HIGHLIGHTS | Capped nonconference play at 13-2 with Sunday's victory over Alcorn State!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/NQUmNHUJqA
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 30, 2019
HOME COOKING
• Santa Clara has extended its school record for consecutive home wins to start a season to 13. The prior mark of 11 was achieved in both 1967-68 and 1968-69.
• The Broncos have set the school record for consecutive wins (15) in Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center, which opened for the 1975-76 season. Santa Clara has not lost at home since a 66-55 defeat to Saint Mary's (Feb. 14, 2019). The original record of 14 began with a 79-72 win over Marquette (Dec. 29, 1996) and ended with an 85-75 loss to San Francisco (Jan. 25, 1998). The school record for consecutive home wins is 22 which occurred between the 1967-68 and 1968-69 seasons.
IMPRESSIVE START
Santa Clara's record is now its best through 15 games since starting a school-record 21-0 in 1968-69 on the way to a 27-2 mark and a trip to the NCAAs. The Broncos have won at least 13 of 15 to begin a season for only sixth time in school history. They were 13-2 in 1911-12, 1930-31, and 1936-37, and 14-1 in 1946-47.
NOTES
• The Broncos lead the all-time series 3-0 against the Braves who play in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Santa Clara won in 1988 and 2012.
• Santa Clara has won 19 of its last 20, including 17 straight, nonconference home games. The lone loss in that stretch was to Idaho State last season.
• Santa Clara has shot 55 percent or higher in six games this season, including twice in the last three. The Broncos shot 55.8 percent in the win over San Jose State (Dec. 18) and a season-high 59.6 percent against Idaho State (Nov. 22).
• In addition to a career-best 24 points, Keshawn Justice had career highs in field goals (9) and 3-pointers (6).
• Jaden Bediako set a career-high in rebounds (8) and matched his most blocks (3).
• Santa Clara drained 16 3-pointers for the second highest total of the season. The Broncos made 17 against Notre Dame de Namur (Nov. 19).
• Alcorn State had 11 steals, one shy of the most by an opponent this season (Washington State, Nov. 12).
INTERVIEW | In the postgame interview presented by @ROATweets, head coach @HerbSendek breaks down the victory over @bravessports.#TeamFirst | #StampedeAhead | #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/i0kDeiiPdF
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 30, 2019
NEXT UP
The Broncos open West Coast Conference play and wrap up their season-long six-game homestand when they face San Diego on Saturday. Tipoff set for 2 p.m. at Leavey Center.
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