SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball scored early, efficently and often on Monday evening as the Broncos ran away with an 85-66 victory over Texas Christian University in the inaugural SoCal Challenge held at the JSerra Pavilion. The Broncos shot 61 percent from the floor (30-for-49) and was 69 percent from beyond the 3-point line (11-16) as they improved to 5-0.
For the fifth-straight game to open the year, Santa Clara saw four individual scorers reach double figures. Jalen Williams continued his impressive junior campaign by scoring a game-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting while pulling down six rebounds and dishing out five assists. PJ Pipes knocked down five 3-pointers as part of a 17-point outing while Giordan Williams scored a season-high 15 points and Keshawn Justice tallied his second double-double of the season (10 points, 10 rebounds).
The hot shooting started early for the Broncos. After some back-and-forth play for the first 10 minutes of action, Santa Clara began to drain their attempts to the tune of a 60 percent clip as they built a 14-point lead at the break at 43-29. Out of the break, it was all Broncos early as they padded on to that lead by scoring 14 unanswered to take a 57-29 lead with 15:36 remaining. TCU (3-1) fought back and used an 18-8 run to cut the deficit to as little as 15, but the Broncos quickly responded to take control and run away with the victory.
TCU, who checked into the night as the nation's fifth-best rebounding team at 48.3 boards per game, was held in check by the Broncos as Santa Clara won the battle of the boards 39-24. The Broncos also dished out 17 assists to the Horned Frogs' 12 and shot 78 percent from the charity strip (14-of-18) against a 47 percent clip for TCU.
The Broncos will look to keep the momentum rolling on Wednesday as they close out the SoCal Challenge with a 10:00 p.m. tip against Fresno State. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
NOTES
- The win was Santa Clara's first over a Big XII team since Nov. 25, 1990 vs. Iowa State (78-62).
- The Broncos knocked down 11 triples. It's their third game of the season with at least 10 3-pointers after doing so just twice in 2020-21.
- Santa Clara continues to be one of the top shooting teams in the nation. They are currently averaging 88.0 points per game and shooting 55 percent from the floor.
NEXT UP
- Wednesday, Nov. 24 vs. Fresno State • 10 p.m.
- SoCal Challenge
- TV: CBS Sports Network
- Video: CBS Sports Network
- Audio: TuneIn (Premium) • Pregame Show Presented by Lunardi's at 9:50 p.m.
- Radio: KDOW-AM 1220
- Live Stats: Statbroadcast
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