NASSAU, The Bahamas - Santa Clara men's basketball came out on the losing end of a defensive battle in the championship game of the Baha Mar Hoops Bahamas Championship. Despite holding Central Florida to less than 40 percent shooting, the Broncos were unable to find enough offensive production of their own, finishing with just a 30.5 percent shooting clip in a 57-50 final at the Baha Mar Resort.
Santa Clara's defensive approach was outstanding in the opening half as the Broncos held UCF to just 9-of-28 from the floor (32.1 percent) and 6-of-18 mark from distance (33.3 percent). Unfortunately, the Knights' defense was also impressive. The Broncos were limited to just 20.8 percent from the floor (5-of-24) and hit 3-of-9 3-point attempts.
Points were at a premium in the opening 20 minutes with the teams combining for just 41 points. Santa Clara led early at 9-7 at the 12 minute mark, but the Knights responded with seven unanswered to take the lead, and would go on to hold onto it for the remainder of the night. Keshawn Justice knocked down a 3-ball to end their run and make it a one-score game 14-12, but that was as close as the Broncos would get as the shots went cold. SCU had a stretch in the backend of the half in which they were 0-for-11 from the floor before Justice ended the skid with a triple, his third of the half. UCF's Tyem Freeman answered Justice's 3-pointer with one of his own in the final 30 seconds of the period to give the Knights a 22-16 advantage at the break.
Both teams fared better offensively in the second half. The Broncos shot 37.1 percent while UCF (4-1) saw a drastic change in shooting percentage with a 12-of-25 mark (48 percent). SCU scored the first five points of the half to chip the deficit to four points, but the Knights quickly pushed their lead back up to nine points and maintained at least a six-point advantage until the 10 minute mark when freshman Kosy Akametu scored three the old fashioned way to cut the deficit back down to five at 39-34. UCF then leaned on their perimeter shooting with two triples to quickly bring their lead back up to nine, but the Broncos would do the same with Akametu and Carlos Stewart each knocking down a 3-ball to make it a five-point game once again with just four minutes to play. That was as close as the comeback bid would get though as the Knights rattled off six unanswered inside the final 1:24 to put the game out of reach.
The Broncos concluded their time in the Bahamas with a 1-1 record and are 4-2 on the season.
Justice and Akametu led the way offensively for Santa Clara with 12 and 10 points respectively. Justice scored all 12 of his points on 3-pointers (4-for-14) while Akametu scored all of his career-high point total in the game's final 10 minutes. Parker Braun pulled down a team-best eight rebounds to go with seven points to match Stewart's point total. Jaden Bediako and Brandin Podziemski finished with seven boards each.
The Broncos fared well on the boards against one of the better rebounding teams in the nation. SCU outrebounded the Knights 43-33 and came away with 17 offensive boards. UCF, who checked into the game ranked sixth nationally in offensive rebounds per game, finished with just eight off the offensive glass.
Taylor Hendricks led the Knights with 19 points and was named the tournament MVP. Podziemski earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team for the Broncos thanks to his big double-double in the opening round against DePaul.
The Broncos return to action on Wednesday, Nov. 23, against Menlo College at the Leavey Center.
