AUDIO: G. Williams Halftime Interview

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - David Roddy tallied 16 points and Isaiah Stevens scored 14 for Colorado State, which handed a cold-shooting Santa Clara men's basketball team a 70-57 loss, its first of the season, in a Tuesday matinee.

Roddy led a balanced scoring effort for the Ram (3-1) who had five players in double figures. John Tonje and Kendle Moore each chipped in with 12 points and Adam Thistlewood scored 10.

Trailing by six points at intermission, the Broncos (6-1) closed to within three on three occasions but could not get over the hump. Roddy, Tonje and Moore each drained a 3-pointer during a 12-5 run midway through the second half to open up a 54-43 lead.

The Rams, who led for the final 25 minutes, took advantage of Santa Clara's 36 percent shooting from the floor, including 5 of 28 from 3-point range.

Colorado State maintained its double-digit margin for the majority of the final 5 minutes of the game, pushing the lead to as many as 14.

The Rams shot just 42 percent from the floor in the game, but connected on 6 of 15 from beyond the 3-point line in the final 20 minutes.

Christian Carlyle, who returned to action after missing the previous two games due to concussion protocol, scored a game-high 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting but also turned the ball over five times, all in the first half. He was the only Santa Clara player in double figures.

Jaden Bediako, Josip Vrankic and Miguel Tomley each tallied seven points but combined to shoot only 8 of 25 for the Broncos who suffered 16 turnovers in seeing its school-record 22-game nonconference home winning streak snapped.

Santa Clara was just 3-for-19 from behind the 3-point line in the second half and also missed a number of close-range shots.

Santa Clara got off to a quick start, scoring the first seven points to jump to a 10-2 lead. However, the Rams took advantage of the turnover prone Broncos to knot the game up at 20-all on Moore's 3-pointer with just over 7 minutes left in the half.

Colorado State closed out the half with an 11-5 run. The Broncos never led after Roddy's layup with 5:02 remaining before halftime.

Check out the @HerculesTires Strong Plays of the Game from today's tilt against Colorado State!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/AOyo6Y7QLO

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 23, 2020

NOTES
• This was just the second meeting between the schools. The Broncos downed the Rams, 73-50, in the NCAA West Regional in Corvallis, Oregon, on March 12, 1954.
• The Broncos played their third home game at Kaiser Permanente Arena due to COVID-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County.
• Santa Clara was seeking a 7-0 start to the season which would have tied for the third-longest in school history. The 6-0 mark is tied for eighth on the Santa Clara books.
• The Broncos had won 22 straight nonleague home contests, the longest stretch in school history. Idaho State was the last nonconference foe to knock off the Broncos at home, escaping Leavey Center with a 68-66 victory on Dec. 7, 2018. The loss snapped Santa Clara's 11-game nonconference winning streak. The last loss was at Nevada (97-68) on Dec. 4, 2019.
• Santa Clara shot a season-low nine free throws and made just four. The previous low on attempts was 18 (10 makes) in the season opener against Idaho State (Nov. 25). Colorado State only went the free-throw line 13 times, connecting on 10.
• The Broncos held a 43 to 39 rebounding advantage. They have won the battle of the boards in all but one contest (CSU Bakersfield, Dec. 2).
• Colorado State's shooting percentage from the floor (41.7) was the highest by an opponent this season.
• Christian Carlyle (concussion protocol) and Jalen Williams (foot) missed the last two games, but returned to action today. Carlyle scored seven of the team's first 16 points and ended with 17. Williams played 21 minutes and scored three points.

��️ Hear from head coach @HerbSendek on today's game against Colorado State.

Postgame interview presented by @ROATweets.#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/7sFr8PSmEt

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 22, 2020

NEXT UP
The Broncos were scheduled to face Bethesda University (Calif.) on Wednesday in Kaiser Permanente Arena in Santa Cruz, California, but that game was canceled due to a positive test within the Flames program.

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