SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Despite big nights from Keshawn Justice and Carlos Stewart, Santa Clara men's basketball suffered their first defeat in the Leavey Center on the season, falling to crosstown rival San Jose State, 75-64, in the Battle of the Alameda.
Justice scored a season-high 25 points, his second-hightest scoring total of his SCU career, and Stewart tallied his fourth-straight game with 16 or more points by finishing with 19 points.
The Broncos (8-3) fared well in the opening 20 minutes with Stewart knocking down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to take a 37-29 advantage into the locker rooms. But the second half told a different story as Santa Clara was unable to sustain their offensive success. After shooting the ball at a 44.8 percent clip (13-of-29) in the opening half, SCU was held to just 31.4 percent (11-of-35), including a 3-for-12 mark from distance in the second half. The Broncos were outscored 46-27 in the final 20 minutes as they dropped their first game since Nov. 20 vs. UCF.
Santa Clara held an eight-point advantage midway through the second half, but San Jose State (8-3) rattled off a 12-2 run to take the lead at 55-53 with 8:38 remaining. Justice then scored six points on three possesions to regain the lead at 59-57, but the Broncos would go cold from then on. The Spartans took advantage by scoring 12 straight to take a double-digit advantage and would maintain the big lead for the rest of the way, outscoring the Broncos 18-5 in the final 5:16 of action to pick up their biggest win of the season.
Brandin Podziemski was the only other Bronco to score in double digits, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds and five assists.
The Broncos were outrebounded for just the third time this season, 39-34, and hit just 38 percent from the field (24-of-64) against 45 percent for San Jose State (25-of-56).
Omari Moore led the Spartans with a game-high 24 points and seven assists. Sage Tolbert had a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Santa Clara returns to action on Tuesday against Portland State.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW
.@HerbSendek joined the postgame show following tonight's game#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/0nLOUyJvIF
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 11, 2022
