PORTLAND, Ore. – It took Santa Clara men's basketball just 29 games to match their win total from last season. The Broncos picked up their 21st victory of the season on Saturday evening with a dominating performance at the Chili's Center, defeating Portland 103-84. The win is Santa Clara's fifth-straight dating back to their road victory over San Francisco on Feb. 4.
The Broncos topped 100 points for the first time this season and their first since last season against, coincidentally, Portland at home (102).
Santa Clara (21-8, 9-5) turned to the deep ball for a bulk of their points, knocking down a season-best 16 treys on 16-of-35 shooting (45.7 percent). Keshawn Justice led the way individually with six of those triples as part of his team-high 22-point evening. The Madison, Wisc. product was 8-of-11 from the floor and 6-for-9 from distance while also pulling down five rebounds, dishing out a pair of assists and coming away with one steal.
Brandin Podziemski also chipped in to the 3-point total with a 4-for-9 mark from distance as part of his 10th double-double of the year (and second in as many games). The sophomore was unstoppable in the opening 20 minutes, finishing with 16 points and 10 rebounds in the half. He finished with 16 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and a block.
Carlos Stewart returned to double-figure scoring after coming up short in the past couple of games with a 17-point night that saw the Baton Rouge product his three triples of his own and tally four assists.
In total, Santa Clara had five players finish in double-figure scoring with Parker Braun turning in one of his best games of the year with 15 points on 10-of-13 shooting and fellow big man Christoph Tilly tying his career-high of 13 points with a 6-for-9 shooting performance. Brenton Knapper just barely missed pushing that number up to six as he finished with nine points, as did Camaron Tongue with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting.
The Broncos led wire-to-wire while shooting 56.2 percent for the night. They quickly grabbed a double-figure lead with 12 minutes to play in the first half on a Knapper trey and maintained it for the rest of the night, leading by as much as 20 in the first half and 28 in the second half.
Portland's Mike Meadows did everything he could to help the Pilots attempt a comeback bid, finishing with a game-high 39 points on 14-of-22 shooting. He sparked an 11-0 run midway through the second period that cut the deficit to 11, but Santa Clara punched back with seven unanswered of their own to stave off the bid.
Portland (13-16, 5-9) was held to 42 percent shooting and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
The Broncos outrebounded the Pilots 38-31 and dished out 19 assists to Portland's nine.
Santa Clara will wrap up their regular season with two games next week beginning with their home finale on Thursday against Pepperdine. They will then put a bow on things with a road trip to San Diego to take on the Toreros on Saturday.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS
Coach Sendek and the Broncos picked up win No. 21 with their 103-84 victory at Portland. Hear his postgame thoughts with @PassarelliVoice #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/439w1egRjI
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) February 19, 2023
.@tiggo3justice recaps the Broncos' big road victory and looks ahead to what will be his final home game in the red and white #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/CD5FYiItqz
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) February 19, 2023
GAME NOTES
- Santa Clara's 103 points were their most against a conference opponent since Feb. 16, 2017 (105-55 over Pepperdine).
- It is the first time SCU has scored 100-plus on the road since Nov. 29, 1980 – a 100-87 win at Boise State.
- 41 made field goals is the most by a Bronco Team since making 43 against La Verne on Nov. 10, 2017.
- 16 3-pointers are the most for the Broncos since hitting 16 against Alcorn State on Dec. 29, 2019.
- SCU is now 11-1 when scoring 80 points or more. They are also 17-3 when winning the battle of the boards.
