Broncos Head to San Diego to Face Toreros on Saturday, Jan. 26

Posted: Jan 23, 2008

Jan. 23, 2008

Last Game
The Santa Clara Broncos got out to a 20-point first half lead and then held off the Pepperdine Waves in the second half for a 101-86 win. Brody Angley scored a career high 24 points and dished out a career high 13 assists to lead five players in double figures for the Broncos. Ben Dowdell scored 17 points, while Zac Tiedeman set a career high with 13 points. The Broncos had a season high 12 three-pointers and shot .667 from the field.

Next Game
The Santa Clara Broncos hit the road in search of their third straight win on Saturday, Jan. 26 against the San Diego Toreros. The game tips off at 6 p.m. PT at Jenny Craig Pavilion and fans can follow all the action live on SantaClaraBroncos.com. SCU swept the season series from the Toreros last season, including a 61-47 win on Jan. 20, 2007. The Broncos are looking for their second three-game winning streak of the season.

Head Coach Kerry Keating
Santa Clara University named Kerry Keating head coach on April 6, 2007. Keating, 36, comes to SCU with a long coaching backgroud at a number of top programs. He is the 14th head coach in the 101 years of Bronco basketball and he is the first coach hired since Harlan Dykes in 1926 that had not previously attended SCU or served as an assistant coach on the Mission Campus. Most recently, Keating helped UCLA reach back-to-back Final Fours as an assistant coach on Ben Howland's staff in Westwood. He has also served as an assistant at Tennessee, Tulsa, Appalachian State, Seton Hall, Vanderbilt and Wake Forest. He is off to a 10-8 start in his career at SCU.

SCU vs. San Diego
Series Record: SCU leads 34-26
First Meeting: USD 66-65 win on Dec. 19, 1963
2006-07 at USD: SCU won 61-47
2006-07 at SCU: SCU won 80-72
Record at SCU: SCU leads 21-11
Record at San Diego: USD leads 15-13
Record at Neutral Site: 0-0
Biggest SCU Win: 82-48 (34) on March 5, 2004
Biggest USD Win: 96-71 (25) on Jan. 6, 1990
Notes: Santa Clara is 6-5 overall in the Jenny Craig Pavilion and 4-2 against USD in the facility since it opened in time for the 2000-01 season ... SCU is 4-4 against USD in the Leavey Center since it opened that same season ... USD hosted the WCC Championships from 2001-2003 ... Santa Clara swept the series from the Toreros last season for the first time since 1996-97 ...In the game at USD on Jan. 20, 2007, the Broncos held the Toreros to 2-for-22 shooting in the second half and only 16 points.

Last Game vs. San Diego
Sean Denison had 18 points and 12 rebounds and Santa Clara maintained its hold on first place in the West Coast Conference with a 80-72 win over San Diego in Dick Davey's final home game as coach of the Broncos. Scott Dougherty had 18 points and Brody Angley had 12 points and matched his career high with nine assists for Santa Clara (20-7, 10-2 WCC). San Diego made Davey sweat this one out. Trailing 60-46 after Mitch Henke's two free throws midway in the second half, the Toros pulled within 67-63 on Nir Cohen's three-point play with 4:08 left. That's when Denison went to work, making six straight free throws and scoring on a left-handed putback as Santa Clara pushed its lead to 78-67 and cruised the rest of the way. A standing room only crowd gave Davey a minute-long standing ovation when the veteran coach was introduced before the game and highlights of his career flashed on the scoreboard throughout the evening.

Angley Player of the Week
The West Coast Conference announced Jan. 22 that Santa Clara University senior Brody Angley was named the WCC Co-Player of the Week after leading the Broncos to wins over Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine this past weekend. Diamon Simpson of Saint Mary's shared the award with Angley. Angley had an outstanding weekend, averaging 22.0 points per game and 8.5 assists per game in the Broncos' wins over the Lions and the Waves. He also grabbed 4.0 rebounds per game and tallied 2.0 steals per contest, while shooting 51.7 percent from the field (15-for-29). Angley scored 20 of his team's 58 points in a 58-35 win over LMU, while also pulling down four rebounds and dishing out four assists. He committed no turnovers in 36 minutes against the Lions. Two nights later, the Redding, Calif. native set a career high in points with 24 and assists with 13 to lead SCU to a 101-86 victory over the Waves. He also grabbed four rebounds and picked up two steals in the win. For the week, Angley played in 74 out of 80 possible minutes.

100 Points
Santa Clara scored 101 points against the Pepperdine Waves on Jan. 21. The Broncos had not scored 100 in a game since scoring 111 against Chico State on Nov. 27, 1993. Brody Angley hit two free throws in the final minute to put SCU over 100.

Five in Double Figures
For the first game this season, Santa Clara had five players score in double figures on Jan. 21 vs. Pepperdine. Brody Angley (24), Ben Dowdell (17), John Bryant (17), Zac Tiedeman (13) and Jonathan Gunderson (12) all reached double figures. The last time SCU had five in double figures was Feb. 26, 2007 at Pepperdine.

Assists
Santa Clara made 36 field goals on Jan. 21 and the team recorded 29 assists on those field goals. The 29 assists tied for the fourth most ever by a Santa Clara team. The all-time record for assists in a game is 35, set on Jan. 31, 1975 against Loyola Marymount. Nine different players registered assists against Pepperdine, led by Brody Angley's 13.

Shooting Percentage
Santa Clara shot .667 from the floor on Jan. 21 against Pepperdine, tying for the seventh best shooting performance in school history. It also marked the eighth time SCU has shot better than 50 percent this year. The season high of .718 was set on Nov. 25 at Sacramento State.

Threes
Santa Clara shot 12-for-20 from beyond the 3-point line on Jan. 21 against Pepperdine, setting a season high for 3-pointers made. The 12 three-pointers were the most since the Santa Clara hit 13 threes on Jan. 6, 2005 against Gonzaga.

Angley Nearing 1,000
Santa Clara senior Brody Angley is closing in on 1,000 points for his career after scoring 24 against Pepperdine on Jan. 21. Angley currently has 945 points in his career at SCU. He is attempting to become the 26th player in school history to reach 1,000 points. Travis Niesen (2002-06) is the last Bronco to reach 1,000 points in his career.

Dowdell Perfect
Santa Clara freshman Ben Dowdell continued his recent superlative play with 17 points, four assists, four rebounds and two steals vs. Pepperdine on Jan. 21. He has scored in double figures in four out of the past six games. Against Pepperdine, Dowdell shot a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, including making his first three-pointer of the season.

Tiedeman Shoots and Scores
Sophomore Zac Tiedeman started his sixth game of the season at shooting guard on Jan. 21 and scored a career high 13 points. He shot 4-for-5 from the floor and hit all three of his 3-point attempts. He has now started three straight games. Tiedeman has played both shooting guard and point guard this season. He started the first two games of the season and then started on Dec. 28 against Denver also.

Dominant Defense
Santa Clara put the clamps on Loyola Marymount's offense on Jan. 19 with an amazing defensive effort. SCU held the Lions to just 35 points in the game, the lowest the Broncos have allowed since an 86-35 win over Notre Dame de Namur on Dec. 20, 2005. The total is the lowest allowed against a conference opponent since a 40-33 Bronco win over Saint Mary's on Feb. 20, 1988. The Lions point total was the lowest against SCU since winning 33-31 on Feb. 7, 1938. As part of the defensive effort on Jan. 19, SCU held the Lions to just 10 points from the 15:34 mark of the first half until the 17:47 mark of the second half, a stretch of 17:47.

More Defense
Santa Clara held Loyola Marymount to a season low 14 field goals in the game on Jan. 19, while forcing them to shoot .190 from 3-point range and .333 overall. The .190 from beyond the arc is the worst shooting performance against the Broncos this year and the .333 is the second worst shooting overall against SCU.

Over 20
The Broncos won by more than 20 points for just the second time this season against LMU on Jan. 19. Santa Clara earned a 23-point win vs. the Lions. The only other Bronco win by 20 points was an 82-55 (27) victory on Nov. 13 at Simpson University.

Bryant Double Doubles
John Bryant has posted seven double doubles this season for Santa Clara after scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19. He posted double doubles in back-to-back games after scoring 18 points and pulling down 11 rebounds at Saint Mary's on Jan. 12. He just missed a third straight game with 14 points and nine rebounds vs. Pepperdine. He also has had double doubles against Cal State Monterey Bay on Nov. 9, Sacramento State on Nov. 25, San Jose State on Dec. 8, Montana on Dec. 17 and Denver on Dec. 28. Bryant had five double doubles in 2006-07 and four double doubles as a freshman during the 2005-06 season.

Angley Racks Up The Minutes
Senior Brody Angley is used to playing a lot of minutes, as he was averaging 28.4 minutes per game for his career coming into this season. However, this year, Angley has been an iron man, playing 35.1 minutes per game to lead the Broncos in that category. In the seven games prior to the Saint Mary's game on Jan. 12, he had not played fewer than 35 minutes in any game. He played a season high 44 minutes against Denver on Dec. 28. Against Saint Mary's, foul trouble forced him to play just 31 minutes, his lowest total since he played 31 on Dec. 8 against San Jose State. He played 36 minutes vs. LMU on Jan. 19 and 38 against Pepperdine on Jan. 21.

Henke Double Double
Senior Mitch Henke posted the second double double of his career on Jan. 7 against San Jose State, scoring 17 points and grabbing a season high 10 rebounds. He also had five assists for SCU in the game. His only previous double double took place on Nov. 14, 2006 in the Broncos' victory over Holy Names. He posted 11 points and a career high 11 rebounds in that game.

On the Road
Santa Clara is currently 5-6 on the road this season. With two more wins, SCU will match last season's total of seven road wins. The Broncos went 5-2 on the road in conference play last season.

On the Boards
Santa Clara has held the rebounding edge in 12 of its 18 games this season and have been outrebounded in four games, Stanford on Dec. 19, Niagara on Dec. 29, San Jose State on Jan. 7 and Saint Mary's on Jan. 12. Santa Clara and Utah State each had 26 boards on Dec. 1 and SCU and Pacific each had 32 on Dec. 12. Overall, the Broncos have outrebounded opponents 572-489 for a +4.6 margin.

Double Digits
Santa Clara defeated Pepperdine by 15 points on Jan. 21. The Broncos have earned eight of their 10 victories by 10 points or more this season. Their two single-digit wins were by nine points, vs. Eastern Washington on Nov. 29 (66-57) and vs. Denver on Dec. 28 (74-65 in OT).

Free Throw Line
SCU has improved significantly at the free throw line this season through 18 games. The Broncos are shooting 71 percent from the charity stripe this year after shooting 67 percent last season.

Threes
Senior Brody Angley, junior Calvin Johnson and sophomore Jonathan Gunderson are among the leaders in the WCC in 3-point shooting percentage. Gunderson leads the way at .458, (22-for-48) followed by Johnson at .439 (25-of-57) and Angley (.418, 28-for-67). The record for 3-point percentage for the season is .454, set by Steve Nash in 1994-95. As a team, SCU is shooting .413 from beyond the arc. The season record at Santa Clara is .390, set in 1994-95.

Angley In Top 10
Senior point guard Brody Angley had 119 assists last season, giving him 342 career assists coming into this season. With 95 assists in the first 18 games he has now passed John Woolery (1990-94) and Steve Kenilvort (1982-86) for fifth all-time and has 437 career assists. Next on the list is Kyle Bailey (2001-05), who has 452 career assists.

Angley More Top 10's
Brody Angley also finds himself in the Top 10 all-time in steals at SCU with 152. He passed Steve Nash (1992-96) for fifth all-time with a steal on Jan. 7. Next on the list is John Woolery (1990-94) with 192. Along with steals, Angley now finds himself in the Top 10 all-time in games started as well. After starting against Pepperdine, the Redding, Calif. native, now has 98 starts, moving him past Kyle Bailey (2001-05) and Harold Keeling (1981-85) for fifth all-time. Angley has an opportunity to end his career second all-time if he starts 28 games this season. The all-time leader is Brian Jones (1996-01) with 116 starts. Kurt Rambis (1976-80) is second with 107. Angley has now also reached the Top 10 in minutes played as well with 3,211 all-time. That number places him eighth on Santa Clara's all-time list.

Bryant Moving Up
Center John Bryant blocked 49 shots last season, surpassing his 37 from the 2005-06 season. Bryant's 49 blocks were the third highest single season total in school history. He surpassed Jens Gordon (1987-88), who had 48. After 34 blocks in the first 18 games, Bryant now has 121 career blocks, placing him third all-time in blocks in SCU history. Jens Gordon (1985-89) is second with 133.

The Century Mark
Senior Brody Angley has now appeared in 109 games in his career at Santa Clara after starting against Pepperdine on Jan. 21. He will enter the top 10 in school history for games played if he appears in six more games. The school's all-time record of 127 is held by Kyle Bailey (2001-05.) Fellow senior Mitch Henke also reached 100 games played after starting against Niagara in the Cable Car Classic and has now appeared in 104 in his career.

NCAA Leaders
The Santa Clara Broncos as a team found themselves among the leaders in the nation in a number of statistical categories as of Jan. 22, The Broncos were 14th in field goal percentage at .490, and ninth in three-point percentage at .413. Individually, John Bryant was also among the nation's best. As of Jan. 22, John Bryant was 23rd in field goal percentage at 59.0 and tied for 39th in rebounding at 9.0 per game.

Conference Stats
The 2007-08 Broncos are among the leaders in a number of statistical categories in the West Coast Conference. As of Jan. 22, SCU was first in field goal percentage (.490), first in 3-point field goal percentage (.413), first in scoring defense (62.6) and second in assists (15.0). Individually, John Bryant was second in scoring (17.3), second in rebounding (9.0), first in field goal percentage (.590) and second in blocked shots (1.89). He is also tied for first in double doubles with seven. Brody Angley was second in assists (5.28), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.64), seventh in steals (1.50) and eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.418). Jonathan Gunderson and Calvin Johnson were first and tied for third respectively in 3-point field goal percentage at .458 and .439.