SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball picked up their fifth-straight victory on Wednesday evening, holding off New Mexico State for a 66-65 victory inside the Leavey Center. Keshawn Justice, Brandin Podziemski and Carlos Stewart each scored 16 or more and combined for 50 points in the victory.
Justice led the way with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting, including a 4-for-9 mark from downtown. It's the fifth-straight game in double figures for the graduate forward. Podziemski and Stewart each tallied 16 points. Stewart tied his season and career-high of three triples with a 3-for-4 clip, all in the first half. Podziemski turned in yet another balanced night with seven rebounds, career-high six assists and three steals.
The Broncos shot 43.1 percent from the floor (25-of-58) and was 9-of-27 from 3-point range (33.3 percent). They held New Mexico State, who checked into the game averaging 82.5 points on 47.6 percent shooting, to just 38.1 percent (24-of-63) and 39.4 percent from beyond the arc (13-of-33).
New Mexico State used a six point swing in the final 1:44 of the first half to take a three point lead into the locker room at 36-33, but Santa Clara came out of the break clicking on all cyclinders to score 11 unanswered and take a 47-36 lead. The Aggies clawed their way back into contention, cutting the deficit to two with 9:35 on the clock and again with 6:30 remaining. Stewart scored in the paint on a heavily contested shot and Justice scored on mid-range jumper on the following possession to push the lead back up to five, but New Mexico State rattled off five-straight to tie the contest at 61-61 with just 2:18 left.
It was Podziemski who would score what would prove to be the deciding bucket, taking an in-bounds pass down the baseline for a difficult layup off the glass to take the 63-61 lead. The Broncos got a defensive stop and Stewart was sent to the foul line where he was 1-for-2 to push the lead to three. The Aggies' Xavier Pinson was fouled inside the final seven seconds and knocked down both of his free throws to cut it back to a one-point game at 64-63, but Podziemski answered for the Broncos by drawing a foul and knocking down both of his freebies to preserve the three-point advantage. Deshawndre Washington, who finished with a game-high 20 points, had one last crack at a tie for NMSU and even beat the buzzer on his attempt, but the shot came well inside the 3-point line to harmlessly make it a 66-65 final.
Santa Clara was dominant once again on the boards, finishing with 42 to the Aggies' 34. Four Broncos finished with at least seven rebounds with Parker Braun pulling down a team-high nine.
The Broncos are now 5-0 inside the Leavey Center this season and 19-4 in the last two seasons. They will look to continue that streak on Saturday when they welcome crosstown rival San Jose State for a 2:00 p.m. PT tip.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Broncos hold on for a 66-65 victory over NMSU
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 8, 2022
Coach Sendek spoke with @PassarelliVoice about it#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/fPtKgAChy7
.@tiggo3justice scored a team-high 18 pts (4-9 3PT) and also joined @PassarelliVoice for the postgame show#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/wH5xF3EyXz
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 8, 2022
