Late Layup Lifts Men’s Basketball to a 60-58 Win Against Sacramento State

Sacramento State

Santa Clara

Final	1	2	T
Sacramento State (6-2)	36	22	58
Santa Clara (10-2)	31	29	60

Game Leaders

Sacramento State

Pts: Brandon Davis - 14

Reb: Joshua Patton - 9

Ast: 2 Players (#11, #23) - 3

Santa Clara

Pts: Josip Vrankic - 15

Reb: Guglielmo Caruso - 6

Ast: Josip Vrankic - 5

Team Stats

Sacramento State

Santa Clara

Field Goals

(17-47)

(24-58)

Field Goal %

36.2%

41.4%

Rebounds

Assists

Turnovers

Pts off Turnovers

2nd Chance Pts

Pts in the Paint

Fastbreak Pts

Bench Pts

full stats

Posted: Dec 14, 2019

HIGHLIGHTS: Men's Basketball Defeats Sacramento State | HIGHLIGHTS: Wertz Hits Game-Winner vs. Sacramento State

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball needed some heroics to keep its successful stretch at home intact.

Trey Wertz's driving layup with 4.6 seconds remaining in the game gave the Broncos a 60-58 win over Sacramento State on Saturday to remain perfect at home this season.

With the game tied at 58-all, Santa Clara head coach Herb Sendek called a timeout with 22 seconds left. Coming off the timeout, Wertz dribbled near the midcourt logo until about eight seconds remained, utilized a Guglielmo Caruso screen to drive left and accelerated from the left elbow for the game-winning layup with his right hand.

Sacramento State's Brandon Davis had an opportunity to tie the game but his floater in the paint at the buzzer missed the mark giving Santa Clara (10-2) its 12th-straight victory at home where they have won all 10 this year.

Four Broncos scored in double figures led by Josip Vrankic with 15 points. Wertz added 11 as Caruso and DJ Mitchell chipped in with 10 points each. Vrankic also had five assists, five rebounds and three of the team's nine steals.

Davis finished with a team-high 14 points to pace four Hornets (6-2) in double figures. Chibueze Jacobs, Bryce Fowler and Joshua Patton each had 10.

Trailing 36-31 at intermission, Vrankic and Jalen Williams combined to score 10 points during a 14-2 run to take a 45-38 lead, their biggest in the second half.

Sacramento State twice trimmed the deficit to one point but each time the Broncos had an answer. After Davis' layup made it 49-48, Vrankic scored five straight to push the lead out to six with 3:25 left.

But the persistent Hornets did not go away, tying the game twice in the final 68 seconds. Bryce Fowler sank a pair of free throws with 24 seconds left on the clock to make it 58-all before Wertz's dramatics.

In the first half, Santa Clara led by as many as 10 points thanks to a 17-1 run. But just as they did all game long, the Hornets responded.

Sacramento State got hot behind the arc, nailing three 3-pointers to even the score at 23-all. The Hornets shot 5 of 9 from behind the 3-point line in the first half compared to just one made 3-pointer for the Broncos.

Jacobs and Davis combined to score nine of the final 13 points for the Hornets to close the half with a 36-31 lead.

SCU had another solid defensive effort holding Sacramento State to 36 percent for the game and just 30 percent in the second half, a week after limiting Cal to 29 percent. The Broncos also forced the Hornets into a season-high 19 turnovers.

HIGHLIGHT | @_TDub3 for the win!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/Jj0C0X1ppI
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 15, 2019

HOME COOKING
Santa Clara has won 16 of its last 17 nonconference home games. The Broncos have won their last 12 home games overall, dating to last season. That mark is the third-longest stretch in the history of Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center (since 1975-76). The record is 14 in a row, which began with a 79-72 win over Marquette (Dec. 29, 1996) and ended with an 85-75 loss to San Francisco (Jan. 25, 1998).

HIGHLIGHTS | Best Bronco buckets from Saturday's victory over Sacramento State!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #SCUBroncos pic.twitter.com/iTH1FDCqtD
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 15, 2019

NOTES
• The Broncos are a perfect 7-0 in the series. The two squads played for the first time in 11 years. They have faced off five times with both as members of Division I. The Hornets moved from Division II for the 1991-92 season.
• Santa Clara has won 10 of its first 12 games for just the second time in the last 31 years and fifth in the last 51 (11-2 in 2012-13; 11-2 in 1988-89; 12-2 in 1977-78; 10-2 in 1969-70).
• For the second-straight game, Keshawn Justice and Jalen Williams were in the starting lineup along with Josip Vrankic, Guglielmo Caruso and Trey Wertz. Vrankic, Caruso and Wertz have started all 12 games.
• The Broncos were just 2-for-14 from behind the 3-point line. The two 3-pointers were a season low (three vs. Cal Poly, Nov. 8).
• Santa Clara's first 16 points all came in the paint and the team outscored the Hornets 42-18 overall in the game in that category.
• The Broncos were a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, but the attempts were a season-low. They twice had 12 in a game (vs. UC Santa Cruz, Nov. 5; vs. Idaho State, Nov. 22).

INTERVIEW | In the postgame interview presented by @ROATweets, head coach @HerbSendek discusses the last-second win over @SacHornetsMBB #TeamFirst | #StampedeAhead | #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/nwxr9GbUoA
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 15, 2019

NEXT UP
The Broncos play the third game of their six-game homestand on Wednesday when they face crosstown rival San Jose State. Tipoff is 7 p.m. from Leavey Center.