Jan. 10, 2010
Robert Smith scored a career-high 23 points and Saint Mary's put four players in double-figures, and the Gaels won the game 80-72. Santa Clara is now 8-11 (0-2) and Saint Mary's moves to 15-2 (2-0).
"I thought we took a step forward even though we didn't win the game but our effort was there," said Santa Clara Head Coach Kerry Keating, "We made mistakes, but as a young team we will make mistakes. We have been going back and forth for about a month but we finally were able to play well in the second half."
"We are excited to get out of here with a win," said Saint Mary's Head Coach Randy Bennett. "Coming down here it is a tough place to play. Santa Clara made several runs and our guys did a great job of making baskets and making a few stops, not many in the second half, but we did when we needed to. They didn't quit. They kept playing and kept it close."
Santa Clara shot 45 percent from the field, including 30 percent from beyond the arc. Santa Clara collected 31 rebounds, four steals and four blocks with seven turnovers. Saint Mary's shot 45.9 percent from the field, including 36.4 percent from beyond the arc. The Gaels collected 38 rebounds, two steals and nine blocks with nine turnovers.
The seven turnovers for Santa Clara are the fewest for the Broncos since Nov. 2, 2005 against UC Irvine.
Marc Trasolini finished with 18 points and nine rebounds. Ray Cowels finished with 10 points. Ben Dowdell finished with nine points and five rebounds. Samhan finished with 24 points and nine rebounds. Ben Allen finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Mathew Dellavedova finished with 13 points and nine assists. Mickey McConnell added ten points.
After Smith's basket at 18:55 put the Broncos in the lead 2-0, Saint Mary's went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 7-2 after Samhan made a bucket. Samhan scored nine of the first 11 points for the Gaels. The Broncos responded with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at nine after Smith made a bucket at 13:56.
The Gaels exploded on a 26-9 run in the next seven minutes to take a 35-18 lead after Allen hit a three in the corner at 7:01. Coach Keating was charged with a technical foul at 8:07 and Dellavedova made both technical free throws. Trasolini scored three straight points for the Broncos from 6:46-6:03 but Saint Mary's still held a 35-21 lead.
Niyi Harrison scored on consecutive possessions for the Broncos but Saint Mary's still held on to a 16-point lead 41-25 with 3:17. The score at the half was 43-27. In the first half the Gaels dominated the Broncos on the glass. Saint Mary's collected 10 offensive rebounds and 25 total rebounds, while the Broncos finished with six offensive rebounds and 15 total.
Allen nailed a three at 19:50 for the Gaels to push the lead to 44-27. Dowdell scored five straight points for the Broncos to cut the score to 44-32 with 18:00. After a free throw by Payne, Smith nailed a three at 16:46 cut the Gael's lead to eight, 36-44. Payne converted on a fast break layup to close the gap to 46-40 with 15:23.
Saint Mary's scored on consecutive baskets at 14:45 and 14:09 to take a 10 point lead but Smith converted a three point play for the Broncos at 13:55 to cut the lead to 50-43. Trasolini's bucket at 13:05 and Payne's putback at 12:13 cut the score to 52-48.
Cowels nailed a three in the corner at 9:16 but the Gaels still held a 60-53 advantage. Dellavedova knocked down a three at 7:56 to put Saint Mary's in the lead 65-55. y McConnell hit a three at 5:07 to push the score to 69-58, but a basket by Smith at 4:37 cut the Gaels lead back to nine, 69-60.
Samhan's basket at 1:49 pushed the Gael's lead to 76-64, but Cowels scored on consecutive possessions for the Broncos to cut the score to 76-68 at 1:12. Samhan's dunk at 1:03 pushed the Gael's lead to 10, 78-68.
