SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Jalen Williams scored 25 points and Santa Clara men's basketball outscored Florida A&M 46-26 in the second half to pick up an 80-66 win on Friday night at the Leavey Center.
After being held in check for the majority of the first half, the Broncos (8-5) grabbed their first lead of the night at 46-45 on a pair of free throws by Josip Vrankic with 14 minutes left in the game and never looked back, outscoring the Rattlers 35-24 the remainder of contest to secure the victory.
Williams scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half to pace three Broncos in double figure scoring. Keshawn Justice tallied 14 points while Vrankic added 12 in his second game back from an extended leave due to illness.
The Rattlers were led by M.J. Randolph's game-high 31 points on 13-of-20 shooting from the field. D.J. Jones chipped in 12 points and eight rebounds for the visitors from Tallahassee.
Santa Clara pushed its lead out to as many as 11 points on a Williams jumper with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. However, Randolph's scoring kept the Rattlers in striking range before the Broncos pulled away in the final three minutes.
The second half saw Williams and Randolph go toe-to-toe, scoring 18 points apiece, but the difference was the support provided by rest of the team. Vrankic had nine points to outscore the rest of the Florida A&M squad, 9-8, in the second half.
In the opening 20 minutes, Florida A&M was red-hot, connecting on 13 of its first 18 shots from the field to open with a big 28-17 advtange. The Broncos trimmed the lead down to 33-30 behind Williams who scored eight points during a 13-5 run. The Rattlers shot 56-percent from the floor and led 40-34 at intermission.
Santa Clara finished the night right at their season average at 50 percent shooting from the floor (28-of-56). They hit nine 3-pointers with Justice responsible for four of them, all coming in the first half. The Broncos also cut down on turnovers, something in which they struggled with in their last outing against Boise State, finishing with just 12 on the night and resulting in just 13 points off of them.
Florida A&M converted on 47 percent of their attempts from the field (29-of-62) and hit four of their nine 3-point attempts.
NOTES
- Jalen Williams scored 20-plus points for the sixth time this season.
- Keshawn Justice scored multiple 3-pointers for the 12th time this season.
- Santa Clara now owns the lead in the all-time series, 1-0.
POSTGAME VIDEOS
.@HerbSendek reflects on tonight's victory ��#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/OF9AvuOhL4
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 18, 2021
In his first home game since missing extended time @JosipVrankic scored 12 points to help power thr Broncos to victory#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/FZi5opNBfS
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 18, 2021
NEXT UP
- The Broncos have a quick turnaround and face Montana on Sunday. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. from the Leavey Center.
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