Nov. 7, 2008
Santa Clara, Calif. - In Santa Clara's lone exhibition of the year, the Bronco basketball team defeated CSU Monterey Bay 93-65 on Fri., Nov. 7 at the Leavey Center. The Broncos open their season Fri., Nov. 14 vs. CSU East Bay at the Leavey Center.
Senior John Bryant collected 20 rebounds, adding 19 points in 31 minutes of play. Also collecting double figures were senior Calvin Johnson who scored 14 points, hitting 4 of 7 from beyond the arc; sophomore Ben Dowdell who scored 14 points with 3 rebounds; and junior newcomer Perry Petty, who collected 17 points, hitting 10 of 14 free throws with five steals and four assists.
The Otters put three players in double figures: Steve Monreal (18), Stephen Becker (16) and Jose Sanchez (10).
"All in all it was a good effort. I was disappointed we didn't shoot the ball better from the free throw line (shot 65.4%) but it was a good first effort," said SCU head coach Kerry Keating. "In the first half they made some tough shots. They are good shooters. At half time I talked to the team about stopping them defensively and I think we did a good job."
Santa Clara took an 18-9 lead at the 11:27 mark in the first half before CSU MB came charging back on a 15-4 run to take the lead 24-22 at the 7:59 mark. The rest of the first half was back and forth with the Otters taking a 37-34 lead before Dowdell hit a jumper and Johnson hit a three to make it 39-37 Broncos at the half.
The second half was all Broncos with CSU MB drawing first blood to tie the game at 39-39 with 19:40 in the second stanza before Santa Clara went on a scoring fit of its own, taking a 52-39 before the Otters hit their next basket almost six minutes later at 13:52.
Santa Clara, with five newcomers playing tonight, saw nine players play 20+ minutes. Santa Clara shot 54.2 % from the field to the Otters 43.9%. The Otters were whistled for 37 fouls with the Broncos shooting 34 of 52 from the charity stripe.
"The first half with all of our newcomers we needed to get into a rhythm," said Bryant. "Coach Keating talked to us during halftime about stopping them on defense and I think we picked up that effort in the second half. We seemed to play with a lot more energy in the second half. We got a lot of our young guys experience and that's what we need right now is experience. We got a lot out of the exhibition because they got to play a lot."