MORAGA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball put themselves in a good position to win late against Saint Mary's, down just two points inside the final two minutes of regulation, but ultimately the Broncos were unable to hold on late as the Gaels scored six unanswered points inside the last 1:30 to hold on for a 73-65 victory inside the UCU Pavilion.
The Broncos (11-7, 1-2) shot the ball well in the opening 20 minutes, finishing the first half with a 50 percent clip. After a Jalen Williams layup with 1:18 left in the period tied the game at 30-30, Saint Mary's rattled off seven unanswered to close the half and take a 37-30 lead into the locker room. Santa Clara punched right back out of the intermission, using a 7-0 run of their own to quickly tie things back up. The teams exhanged blows for the remainder of the night, but the Broncos were unable to regain the lead at any point as they suffered their second loss in WCC play.
A 3-pointer from PJ Pipes cut the deficit to just two points at 65-63 inside four minutes to play, and a layup from Keshawn Justice kept the deficit at two with under two to play, but the Gaels were able to seal off the comeback bid to improve to 14-4, 2-1.
Williams was one of three Broncos that finished in double-figures with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Pipes added 16 while Justin tallied 11 with six rebounds. Parker Braun nearly had a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds while Josip Vrankic finished with eight points, five rebounds, four steals and two assists. The Broncos finished the game 26-of-58 (44.8) and knocked down six 3-pointers, five of which coming in the second half.
Saint Mary's was led by 17 points from Tommy Kuhse and Alex Ducas. The Gaels shot 43.3 percent from the floor (26-of-60) and converted on 9-of-25 3-point attempts.
NOTES
- Jalen Williams' 18 points extended his streak to 18-straight games this season in double figures.
- The Broncos' 65 points bested the Gaels' 58.0 points against average which is the best in the WCC and top-10 nationally.
POSTGAME VIDEO
.@HerbSendek shares his post game thoughts.#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/wo6dtYw2G7
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 21, 2022
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- The Broncos host San Diego for a 6:00 p.m. PT tip inside the Leavey Center. The game will be streamed on the WCC Network.
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