SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Behind big double-double efforts from Keshawn Justice and Josip Vrankic, Santa Clara men's basketball rolled to victory over Montana on Sunday, defeating the Grizzlies 79-64 to pick up win No. 9 on the season and No. 2 for the weekend.
Justice finished with a season-best 23 points and 11 rebounds for his WCC-leading fifth double-double of the year. Not to be outdone by his teammate, Vrankic scored 20 and pulled down 10 boards for his first double-double of the year after leading the WCC in that departement a season ago.
The Broncos (9-5) took control of the contest early on, grabbing a lead just under five minutes into the game. They held that lead for the remainder of the opening half, pushing it to as much as 10 before settling for a seven-point advantage at the break at 33-26.
Montana (8-5) chipped the lead down in the opening stages of the second half and tied things up on a 3-pointer at 43-43 with 14:45 remaining. The Broncos had an answer, however, using a 14-4 run that spanned five minutes to gain control for good. Justice had 10 points during the stretch. Santa Clara increased the lead to as much as 17 with 3:37 left, but ultimately walked out of the Leavey Center with a 15-point victory.
Justice was 7-of-13 from the floor with three 3-pointers in the winning effort. The Broncos also saw double-figure scoring outings from Williams' duo. Giordan finished with 11 points while Jalen, who checked into the game as the nation's leading scorer with 252 total points, finished with 10 to extend his streak of 10+plus scoring games to 14.
The Broncos shot 45.3 percent from the field (24-of-53) and was 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Santa Clara won the rebounding battle, 43-31, and blocked eight shots. Five of those blocks came from Parker Braun, all in the opening half.
Montana was led by Derrick Carter-Hollinger's 17 points. The Grizzlies were held to just a 35 percent scoring clip, but connected on nine 3-pointers.
NOTES
- Santa Clara has won the last three games of the series and is 7-2 against the Grizzlies all-time.
- Keshawn Justice scored multiple 3-pointers for the 13th time this season.
- The Broncos had four players reach double figures for the 8th time this year.
- Parker Braun's five blocks were a career-best
POSTGAME VIDEOS
.@HerbSendek recaps tonight's 79-64 victory over Montana#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/ZJlXmXbbHG
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 20, 2021
.@tiggo3justice tallied double-double No. 5️⃣ tonight. He breaks down the big win here ⤵️#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/y2zrwNhe86
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 20, 2021
NEXT UP
- The Broncos will play their final nonconference game of the year against crosstown rival on Tuesday at the Provident Credit Union Event Center in San Jose.
Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
• Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
• Men's Basketball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Snapchat
