Nov. 10, 2007
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -John Bryant scored 26 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to help new Santa Clara head coach Kerry Keating win his debut game on Friday, 66-49 over Cal State Monterey Bay.
Bryant scored 18 of his points in the first half and Jonathan Gunderson added 14 for Santa Clara (1-0).
Keating succeeded Dick Davey, who retired after taking the Broncos to three NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 seasons.
Ryan McBride led Cal State Monterey Bay with 16 points. Augie Johnston added 13 and D'Shon Cannon scored 11 points.
Cal State Monterey Bay had a brief 9-8 lead with 15:22 to play in the first half but Santa Clara responded with a 15-8 run. Both teams failed to score for 2:43 until two free throws by Gunderson with 4:06 remaining in the half.
The Broncos led 32-18 at halftime. Cal State Monterey Bay cut the deficit to single digits after a layup by Ryan McBride with 14:13 remaining, and the Otters trailed 35-28. That was as close as the Otters would get after Santa Clara took a 10 point lead with a 3-pointer by Gunderson with 10:55 to play.
Another 3-pointer by Gunderson put the Broncos up 51-37 and Santa Clara would lead by as many as 22 points with 5:25 to play.
The Otters went on a 9-4 run to end the contest. Because Cal State Monterey Bay is a Division II school, this game did not count in the standings. Cal State Monterey Bay officially opens its season on November 16 against Seattle Pacific.
The Broncos were missing three players due to injury. Senior guard Josh Higgins has a left knee injury that will keep him sidelined for 4-5 weeks, freshmen Andrew Zimmerman has been out with a back injury and Scott Thompson is recovering from an appendectomy.
Santa Clara plays its next seven games on the road and does not play again at home until December 12.
