Dec 15, 2002
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Alex Kargbo scored a career-high 16 points as Santa Clara snapped a three-game skid, pulling out a 67-62 victory over Nevada Saturday night at the Leavey Center.
Santa Clara improved to 4-3 on the season and 3-2 at home. The Broncos take to the road for a pair of games next week in Baltmore, Md. Santa Clara faces UMBC on Friday and Loyola College on Sunday. Both games will be broadcast by the Bronco Radio Network and will be available on SantaClaraBroncos.com.
Garry Hill-Thomas of Nevada led all players with 24 points for the Wolf Pack, who fall to 2-5 on the season with the loss.
Kargbo, who came into the game averaging only six points per game, filled in for the Broncos leading scorer Kyle Bailey who was out with a foot injury. Bailey will be examined by team doctors next week and should be back in action in time for the 36th annual Cable Car Classic later this month.
The Broncos' Jordan Legge provided 12 points, and junior college transfer J.R. Patrick, seeing his first action since recovering from a knee surgery earlier this fall, added 5 points off the bench. Both Legge and Patrick missed the entire preseason due to knee injuries and have only recently returned to the court.
Cord Anderson pulled a game-high 13 rebounds, marking the second-straight game and the fourth overall that he has registered double figures on the boards. He is the team's leading rebounder at 7.6 per game.
The Wolf Pack's Hill-Thomas kept his team in the game early, scoring 15 first-half points including 10 of Nevada's first 12.
The Wolf Pack has not won at Santa Clara in more than two decades. The last the Nevada came out of Santa Clara victorious was a a 72-71 decision on Dec. 13, 1980. The Bronco have won eight straight in the series at home.
Kirk Snyder, Nevada's leading scorer heading into the game, missed his first nine shots last night before sinking a 3-pointer three minutes into the second half. He finished with 10 points, while Todd Okeson added 13.
Santa Clara (4-3), playing in its first game after taking a week off for finals, also struggled offensively. The two teams shot a combined 33 percent in the first half.
