WHITTIER, Calif. – In the opening round of the conference tournament, No. 18 Santa Clara men's water polo fell to No. 16 UC Davis by a final of 6-5. The loss means Santa Clara will play host Whittier tomorrow at 9 a.m. 

"We went into this game with a defensive game plan and I thought we played great defense," said Bronco head coach Keith Wilbur. "The goalies stepped up and each had a great half. Our plan was to keep the game low scoring and we did that and the score was 5-5 halfway through the fourth quarter. We had our opportunities to score in the fourth but couldn't put our shots away. We need finish better but this was a big improvement and the best game we played against Davis all year."

Theo Nasser was the lone Bronco to score multiple goals and had two. Jimmy Moore, Evan Chang and Chase Schaaf each scored once. Nasser and James Rude each had two earned ejections while Evan Chang had one. Kyle Nadel had two assists on the day. In net John Nash collected eight blocks while Matt Pritchett had 11.

The game was tight throughout as the score was tied at the end of the first quarter 1-1, halftime 5-5 and the third quarter 5-5. The Aggies were able to score a goal in the fourth quarter to put them over the top and get the 6-5 win.

SCU  1 4 0 0 5
UCD 1 4 0 1 6
Goals: Nasser 2, Moore, Chang, Schaaf
Saves: Nash 8, Pritchett 11