SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The Santa Clara University men's basketball team won its fifth consecutive game Thursday – for the second time this season – while winning its sixth straight West Coast Conference opener, surging in the second half to down rival San Francisco, 79-67, at Leavey Center.
The Broncos (13-3, 1-0 WCC) won their fifth game in a row for the second time in 2022-23 by outscoring the Dons (11-5, 0-1 WCC) 41-29 in the second half. It's the sixth game in a row and seventh in the last eight that SCU has outscored or matched its opponent in the second half. It's the seventh time this season SCU has been down or tied at halftime, then went on to earn the victory in the second half.
The Broncos have won six consecutive WCC openers dating to 2017-18. Head coach Herb Sendek is now 6-1 with the Broncos in WCC openers. Santa Clara also snapped USF's five-game winning streak in the series, which dated to 2019-20.
All five Santa Clara starters scored in double figures Thursday. Brandin Podziemski and Carlos Stewart led SCU with 18 points each. Keshawn Justice had 13 points, and Parker Braun and Jaden Bediako each added 11. Braun narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds, while Justice and Podziemski both added five assists.
Khalil Shabazz led San Francisco with 23 points. Zane Meeks had a double-double off the bench with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Tyrell Roberts added 13 points and an assist.
The Santa Clara offense did its duty Thursday, scoring over 70 points for the fifth game in a row and shooting 51.8% — the team's third-best shooting performance this season. But the defense also made a huge impact in the second half.
San Francisco ended the game going just 2 for 16 (12.5%) from the floor, 1 for 9 (11.1%) from deep in the final 10 minutes. The Broncos held USF to 38.7% shooting on Thursday, including a 26.9% (7 for 26) rate from deep. Santa Clara had eight steals – second-most in a game this season – and scored 21 points off 16 USF turnovers.
Santa Clara used two separate surges in the second half to pull away from San Francisco. Seven lead changes during the second half's first five minutes continued the chaos from the end of the first half, which saw five lead changes of its own. But the Broncos surged ahead starting at the 15:05 mark, going on a 10-0 run that included two 3-pointers from Justice to take a 58-49 advantage.
Shabazz went on his own solo run for USF, outscoring Santa Clara 7-2 by himself for 2 1/2 minutes, to get the Dons within two at 60-58. But that was as close as they'd get. The Broncos turned in another 11-3 surge and led by 10, 71-61, with three minutes to play.
Santa Clara jumped on a slow start from San Francisco, taking a 10-point, 12-2 lead in the first four minutes. The Broncos hit four consecutive shots – all from four different players – with three of them coming beyond the 3-point line. USF was just 1 for 5 from the field with two turnovers in that span.
Santa Clara led from the tip all the way to the five-minute mark of the first half. A 10-4 San Francisco run made it a one-point game with 6:14 to go before halftime, and the Dons finally took their first lead 77 seconds later on a Zane Meeks layup. The teams traded the lead five times in the final five minutes of the opening period. Santa Clara held USF scoreless for the remaining 2:47 of the half and scored four unanswered points to go into the locker room tied, 38-38.
Santa Clara hosts Saint Mary's, who received votes in this week's USA Today Coaches' Poll, at 4 p.m. Saturday. The game will be televised live on NBC Sports Bay Area, and can be heard live on KDOW 1220.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Broncos won their sixth-straight WCC opener with a 12-point victory over the Dons. @HerbSendek joined @PassarelliVoice to talk about it.#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/4CWE1QE5Xe
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 30, 2022
Big night for @tiggo3justice with 13 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast. He joined @PassarelliVoice to discuss the victory#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/psQ0UGQcqn
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 30, 2022
GAME NOTES
- Keshawn Justice is now just two points shy of tying Travis Niesen for 20th on the school's all-time scoring list.
- Podziemski, who checked into the game with the nation's fourth-most steals with 35, added four more steals to bring his season total to 39.
- Five Broncos scored in double figures for the first time since the win over Wyoming on Nov. 30, 2022.
- Carlos Stewart was a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe.
