SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Jalen Williams' two-point floater inside the paint inside the final second lifted Santa Clara to a big 77-76 victory over BYU on Thursday evening inside the Leavey Center. It is the Broncos' first win over BYU since January 26, 2017.
Keeping this on a loop for the foreseeable future
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 28, 2022
What a shot. What a moment. What a game.#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/3rOR4Xr5dD
Williams finished with a game-high 26 points to power the Broncos to victory. The junior was 10-of-18 from the floor and finished with his ninth game of 20-plus points this season. None of those points were bigger than his last bucket of the evening. Trailing 76-75 with just six seconds remaining, BYU drew a foul on an inbounds play and went to the free throw line looking to build their lead in the waning moments, however a lane violation gave the ball back to the Broncos with time to run one more play. Santa Clara put the ball in Williams' hand and he took care of the rest, driving the length of the court and putting up a floater with one second on the clock. The ball bounced around the rim before dropping for the game-winning score.
Williams was one of four Broncos to finish in double figure scoring joined by Josip Vrankic (14), Parker Braun (11) and PJ Pipes (10). Braun also pulled down 10 rebounds for his first-career double-double. The Broncos shot 46.3 percent for the night and was an efficient 15-of-28 in the second half.
The opening half saw both offenses go back-and-forth with 13 lead changes as neither offense was able to mount more than a four-point lead. Williams and BYU's Alex Barcello, two of the top-four scorers in the WCC, were on their A-game early with 13 points apiece in the opening 20 minutes. Williams knocked down two first half triples and scored a contested shot in the paint in the closing seconds to cut the Bronco deficit to 39-37 at the halftime break.
Nothing changed after the teams emerged from the locker rooms as it was a back-and-forth affair for the rest of the night. Williams knocked down his third 3-pointer of the night with 4:32 remaining to give the Broncos a 70-68 advantage, however BYU scored six unanswered over the next three minutes to build a four-point lead at 74-70. Pipes buried a clutch triple from the corner right in front of the Santa Clara bench to cut that deficit to one with :45 remaining, however the Cougars had an answer with an offensive rebounding leading to a layup with just 19 seconds remaining. Williams took the ensuing inbound and laid in an easy bucket to make it a one-point affair at 76-75 leading to the final exciting sequence inside the final seven seconds.
Barcello finished with 20 points to lead BYU (17-5, 5-2) who finished with a 49.2 scoring clip.
NOTES
- The Broncos had four scorers reach double figures for the 13th time this season.
- Santa Clara had lost 11 of the previous 12 games against BYU in Santa Clara prior to tonight's victory.
POSTGAME VIDEO
The man of the hour @JdubPSCEO (26 pts, 4-7 3pt) recaps tonight's thrilling victory#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/3CV78GINHZ
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 28, 2022
.@HerbSendek recaps tonight's big victory#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/o24fbK7rur
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 28, 2022
NEXT UP
- The Broncos will make the short drive up the freeway to take on the University of San Francisco. Tip-off is at 4:00 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on Stadium.
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