Nov. 5, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - The Santa Clara Broncos men's basketball team lost 69-68 to Cal State Stanislaus in an exhibition game at the Leavey Center Monday night. Two free throws by CSUS' Duane Jones with a minute left provided the winning points for the Warriors. Santa Clara center John Bryant poured in 25 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss, while senior Mitch Henke contributed 15 points, five rebounds and four assists. The game marked the debut for Bronco head coach Kerry Keating.
SCU got off to a slow start in the first half, as the Warriors shot 50 percent in the half to take a 10-point lead at halftime. The Broncos shot only 32 percent and missed all seven three-point attempts.
However, the Broncos ripped off an 11-3 run to open the second half to pull within two at 38-36 on a four-point play by Henke off a great pass from freshman Ben Dowdell. The Warriors would not back down and held onto a slim lead throughout most of the half.
The Broncos finally got themselves into the lead with 6:40 left in the game. Bryant netted two free throws to put SCU up 57-56. From there, the game went back and forth with neither team able to take a lead larger than two points.
With just over three minutes left, junior Calvin Johnson got a big steal and fed Henke for a fast-break lay-up and a 65-63 lead. But, as they did all night, the Warriors recovered well and tied the game on two free throws.
After Henke hit one-of-two free throws to put the Broncos up 68-67, Jones made two free throws to give the Warriors a late lead. The Broncos had two chances to win the game, but a missed three-pointer and a late deflection by the Warriors sealed SCU's fate.
Senior Brody Angley finished with 11 points and five assists for SCU.
Santa Clara gets the regular season underway Friday, Nov. 9, as the Broncos host the Cal State Monterey Bay Otters. The game tips off at 7 p.m. PT at the Leavey Center. Fans can watch and listen to the action at SantaClaraBroncos.com.