LOS ANGELES – Josip Vrankic had a double-double with 24 points and 12 rebounds, and Jalen Williams scored a season-high 18, including key free throws in the final minute, to help Santa Clara men's basketball escape with a 72-69 road win over Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

Guglielmo Caruso posted 13 points for the Broncos (9-4, 3-2 West Coast Conference) who led for nearly the entire second half and shot a season-best 84 percent (21 of 25) from the free-throw line.

Eli Scott had a double-double (20 points/11 rebounds) and Keli Leaupepe recorded 15 points for the Lions who were without starters Dameane Douglas and Joe Quintana.

Mattias Markusson (12) and Kodye Pugh (10) also scored in double figures for LMU (7-6, 2-3).

The Broncos led 69-63 on Caruso's basket with 2:38 remaining, but that was their last field goal.  Scott's layup with 33 seconds pulled the Lions with three, but Williams, who had 14 points in the second half, was able to connect on 3 of 4 free throws in the final 30 seconds.

LMU's Jalin Anderson missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer from the right wing with 3 seconds left.

Santa Clara, now 3-1 on the road in West Coast Conference play, made up for a 41 to 25 disparity in rebounding by committing only nine turnovers and shooting 46 percent from the field.

"Tremendous and total team effort and great road win," Santa Clara head coach Herb Sendek said. "I'm really proud of our men."

The Broncos were also shorthanded as DJ Mitchell was unable to play due to an ankle injury.

Leading scorer Vrankic put his stamp on the game early, scoring 17 points in the opening half.

The Lions led by as many as six in the opening 20 minutes, but Santa Clara closed within 34-33 at halftime.

Santa Clara went ahead for good when a fastbreak layup from Williams gave the Broncos 39-37 edge less than 3 minutes into the second half.

The Broncos led by as many as eight points before the Lions made a final push.

Anderson had nine points and nine assists, but he was only 2 of 14 from the field. The Lions shot 37 percent from the floor.

Vrankic also had three assists, two of the team's six blocked shots and two steals.

Check out the @HerculesTires Strong Plays of the Game from Saturday's victory at LMU!#TeamFirst #StampedeAhead #WCCHoops pic.twitter.com/yCZd2NdS4c

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 25, 2021

NOTES
• In a series that began in 1937, Santa Clara holds a 91-63 lead. The teams had split the previous 12 meetings, but LMU had won the last four. The Broncos have now captured four of the last six meetings in Los Angeles.
• LMU was 7-1 at home on the season entering the game, with the other loss occurring on Thursday against Saint Mary's.
• Each team was whistled for 23 fouls. That total was the most for the Broncos this season (22 vs. Nicholls, Nov. 28).
• Two days after posting a season-high 23 turnovers against San Francisco, the Broncos nearly had a season-low with only nine. They had eight at Cal Poly (Dec. 9) and nine at Pacific (Jan. 14).
• Jalen Williams connected on 8 of 9 from the free-throw line, both career-highs.
• Josip Vrankic recorded his 16th career double-double, including fifth of the season. He entered the game second in the league in that category.
• Vrankic and Eli Scott of LMU entered the game as the only players in the WCC averaging at least 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

NEXT UP
The Broncos will face Pacific on Thursday in Santa Cruz, California. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

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