SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Colbey Ross and Kameron Edwards, along with a pesky zone defense, was enough to stop the impressive home-winning streak of Santa Clara men's basketball.
Ross tallied 24 points, including his team's final seven of overtime, and Edwards posted a double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, to help the Waves overcome a career scoring night from Josip Vrankic and down the Broncos, 90-86, in Thursday West Coast Conference matchup.
Vrankic scored 33 on 12 of 18 shooting from the floor and Tahj Eaddy came off the bench to register 16 points for Santa Clara (16-5, 3-3).
Pepperdine (10-10, 3-3) outscored the Broncos 8-3 down the stretch in regulation and 11-7 in overtime to end the home winning streak at 17 games, the third-longest in school history.
In overtime, Edwards' jumper opened the scoring and the Waves never looked back with the Broncos shooting just 3 of 10 from the field against the 2-3 zone.
A 3-pointer by Ross with 20 seconds looked to be the dagger as it gave the Waves an 88-83, but DJ Mitchell answered with a 3-pointer to cut it to a one possession game. However, Ross iced the game with a pair of free throws when he was fouled with 9.2 seconds left. Trey Wertz's 3-point shot was off the mark and the Waves dribbled out the clock.
Ross was just 6-for-19 from the floor, but hit 9 of 10 free throws and posted nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals.
Kessler Edwards, younger brother of Kameron, also had a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Waves who connected on 11 of 24 from beyond the 3-point line. Skylar Chavez chipped in with 14.
Leading scorer Wertz had 13 points and seven assists, but picked up two fouls before the first media timeout and played only 11 minutes in the first half.
Santa Clara overcame a 14-point first half deficit to get within one point on eight different occasions in the second half but the Waves had an answer every time until Eaddy sank a 3-pointer at the 6:44 mark to put the Broncos up 68-66. The junior guard gave the Broncos their first lead since it was 13-11 5 minutes into the game.
The Broncos went up by as many as five with under 4 minutes left in regulation but could not close it out.
In the first half, Pepperdine used an 11-0 run, all scored by the Edwards brothers, to go up 22-13, eventually stretching it out to a 14-point advantage at the 5-minute mark for their biggest lead. Kameron Edwards sank a pair of 3-pointers and a layup while Kessler Edwards capped off the run with a 3-pointer.
Santa Clara answered back with an 11-0 run of it own late in the half to get within 37-34 before Victor Ohia Obioha converted an and-1 to give the Waves a 40-34 lead at the half.
Career-high 33 for @JosipVrankic last night vs. Pepperdine!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/Abckvl4bdC
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 25, 2020
NOTES
• The Broncos hold a 79-61 lead, including wins in six of the last eight, in a series that began in 1956. Santa Clara had captured the last six regular season meetings. Santa Clara set a school record with 22 3-pointers in 106-55 victory on Feb. 16, 2017. Pepperdine won in Leavey Center for the first time since 2014.
• The loss snapped Santa Clara's 17-game home-winning streak, dating to last season. The streak was the third longest in school history and ranks first all-time during the Toso Pavilion/Leavey Center era (since 1975-76).
• The Broncos played without starting forward Guglielmo Caruso (lower right leg) for the sixth-straight game. The sophomore, who leads the WCC in field-goal percentage, was injured against Alcorn State (Dec. 29) and was ruled out indefinitely.
• Santa Clara suffered its first loss of the season when scoring 70 or more points. The Broncos were 14-0 this season and 10-3 last year when hitting that mark.
• DJ Mitchell started his 11th game of the season and the first since Dec. 4 against Nevada, along with Trey Wertz, Josip Vrankic, Keshawn Justice and Jalen Williams.
• Trey Wertz (13 points) has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 games.
• As part of a Coaches vs. Cancer initiative, the coaching staff wore sneakers with their suits during the game and will do so again on Saturday.
INTERVIEW | In the postgame interview presented by @ROATweets, head coach @HerbSendek breaks down the @WCCHoops overtime loss against @PeppBasketball.#TeamFirst | #StampedeAhead | #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/OOeQJb5hXv
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 24, 2020
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