Basketball Edged at Pacific
Santa Clara fell 69-59 at Pacific on Tuesday night. Santa Clara is 5-5 and Pacific is 6-4. Santa Clara hosts Houston Baptist on Fri., Dec. 17 at 7 pm and then Pac-10 member Washington State on Sun., Dec. 19 at 7 pm.
Santa Clara shot 43.8 percent from the field (21 of 48), including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (6 of 18). Santa Clara collected 26 rebounds, nine assists, eight steals and one block. Santa Clara had 14 turnovers and was 11 of 15 from the free throw line. Pacific shot 51.2 percent (21 of 41) from the field, including 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (10 of 20). The Tigers collected 28 rebounds, 15 assists, six steals and two blocks. Pacific had 16 turnovers and was 17 of 26 from the free throw line.
Individually Kevin Foster, who scored 17 points, including all but two in the first half, led Santa Clara. Evan Roquemore scored 12 points for the Broncos. Niyi Harrison and Marc Trasolini added eight. Chris Cunningham, Trasolini and Roquemore all grabbed a team-high four rebounds. For Pacific, Demetrece Young scored 20 points, Allen Huddleston added 16 and Sam Willard scored a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Santa Clara started the same line-up for the second straight game: Chris Cunningham, Ben Dowdell, Robert Smith, Evan Roquemore and Foster.
Foster hit the first bucket of the game at 19:10 and Nyika Williams scored UOP's first at 18:00. Smith hit two free throws to put the Tigers up 4-2 and then Trasolini came flying off the bench to hit a bucket at 16:18.
Foster hit his first three at 14:50. Payne caught an errant ball and moved two feet quickly to lay it in at 12:20.
Smith ran the length of the floor and laid it in at 11:25. Pacific responded with its own basket and then turned it over on its next possession. A smooth pass from Foster resulted in a Trasolini basket at 10:14.
The Tigers then went on an 8-2 run, but Foster responded with a three to tie it up before UOP hit a three of its own to take a 21-18 lead at 6:02.
Dowdell sank two free throws and then UOP scored three straight baskets to take a 27-20 lead at 3:38.
Between four straight Foster free throws, Roquemore hit a three to put the Broncos up 28-27. Pacific hit back-to-back threes and then a lay-up to take a 35-28 lead to halftime.
In the first half, Santa Clara shot 45.0 percent from the field (9 of 20), including 25.0 percent from beyond the arc (3 of 12). Santa Clara collected 10 rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block. Santa Clara had five turnovers and was 7 of 9 from the free throw line. Pacific shot 56.5 percent (13 of 23) from the field, including 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (5 of 12). The Tigers collected 14 rebounds, nine assists and four steals. Pacific had five turnovers and was 4 of 7 from the free throw line. Santa Clara was led by Foster's 15 points, including 5 of 5 from the free throw line. Trasolini added four. Young led UOP wth 11.
Both teams came out of the lockerroom a little chilly before Pacific hit a three at 17:38. A fancy pass from Foster led to a Dowdell lay-up at 17:05 and then Roquemore hit one, 38-32 at 16:34. UOP nailed a three and a few seconds later hit a free throw to take a 10-point lead.
The teams traded threes and Trasolini grinded under the basket to score two. UOP responded with two threes and went up 52-37 at 11:48.
Roquemore scored on a four-foot jumper and then UOP hit six straight free throws. UOP outscored SCU 14-4 from 14:50-7:36. Fouled, Foster scored his first two points of the second half with a pair of free throws at 7:28.
Trasolini hit a basket at 5:50, the first Bronco basket in seven minutes. Raymond Cowels III hit back-to-back threes. Timeout Pacific, up 63-49 at 3:54.
Dowdell tipped the ball in to cut the lead to 63-51 at 2:58. After a UOP basket, Harrison hit a pair of free throws to make it 65-53 at 1:13.
A UOP free throw was followed by a Roquemore basket at :50.2. Harrison drove the lane to cut the lead to 10 at 25.5, 67-57 UOP.