Santa Clara Travels to San Francisco to Take on the Dons Monday Night

Posted: Jan 27, 2008

Jan. 27, 2008

Next Game
The Santa Clara Broncos play their second straight road game on Monday, Jan. 28 against the San Francisco Dons at War Memorial Gymnasium. The game tips off at 7 p.m. PT and will be televised live on Comcast SportsNet. Fans can also listen to the game on 1220 KNTS. The Broncos swept the season series from the Dons last season, including a 61-58 win on Jan. 22, 2007 at War Memorial Gym.

Last Game
The Santa Clara Broncos fell 53-51 to San Diego in a tight game at Jenny Craig Pavilion on Jan. 26. Brandon Johnson hit two free throws to give San Diego a late lead and the Broncos could not score in the final seconds. John Bryant led the Broncos with 17 points and 13 rebounds, while Ben Dowdell had 13 points, including a three-point play in the final minute that put Santa Clara up 51-50. SCU held the Toreros to just 34 percent from the field, but could not get its sixth road win 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 10-9 start in his career at SCU.

SCU vs. San Francisco
Series Record: SCU leads 103-95
First Meeting: SCU 19-11 win on Jan. 22, 1909
2006-07 at SCU: SCU won 74-62
2006-07 at USF: SCU won 61-58
Record at SCU: SCU leads 52-34
Record at USF: USF leads 49-41
Record at Neutral Site: USF leads 12-10
Biggest SCU Win: 88-50 (38) on Feb. 15, 1989
Biggest USF Win: 78-48 (30) on Feb. 6, 1974
Notes: Santa Clara swept the season series from USF last season for the first time since 2000-01 ... Santa Clara knocked USF out of the WCC Tournament in 2004-05 and 2005-06 ... John Bryant (Pinole Valley High) and Dior Lowhorn (Berkeley High) faced each other in high school.

Last Game vs. San Francisco
Danny Pariseau hit back-to-back 3-pointers on the way to eight straight points in the closing minutes and 19 total, leading Santa Clara past San Francisco 74-62 on Monday night. Sean Denison had 18 points and a career-high 16 rebounds and Brody Angley added 13 points and five assists in the third straight win and sixth in seven for the Broncos, who swept the regular-season series against their longtime Bay Area rival for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Danny Cavic's 3-pointer pulled the Dons within 60-57 with 3:18 left, then Scott Dougherty hit from long range on the other end for Santa Clara. Pariseau made the first of his two straight 3s at 1:41 and finished 5-for-7 from long range. San Francisco used an 8-0 run midway through the second half to pull within six. The Dons trailed by 17 early in the half but Surratt hit back-to-back 3-pointers to start the comeback attempt.

Scoring
On Jan. 21 against Pepperdine, Santa Clara outscored the Waves 53-51 in the second half of the game. That was the identical scoreline for the entire game on Jan. 26 at San Diego with the Toreros earning the 53-51 victory.

Dowdell Continues to Roll
Freshman Ben Dowdell continued his excellent play against San Diego on Jan. 26. He scored 13 points, grabbed four rebounds and notched a block and a steal. He also converted a last-minute three-point play that put SCU up 51-50. He has now scored in double figures in five of the last seven games after accomplishing that only once in his first 11 games. He has raised his scoring average from 4.6 following the Minnesota game on Dec. 22 to 7.8 after the game at San Diego. He has also shown a knack for getting to the free throw line, taking at least four free throws in each of the past eight games, including a season high nine against Loyola Marymount on Jan. 19. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the line at San Diego and he is shooting .667 from the floor in four conference games, good for second in the league in field goal percentage.

Bryant Double Doubles
John Bryant notched his eighth double double of the year on Jan. 26 at San Diego with 17 points and 13 rebounds. He has had three double doubles in four conference games. He also earned them against Saint Mary's and Loyola Marymount, but just missed a double double on Jan. 21 vs. Pepperdine with 14 points and nine rebounds. Bryant is now leading the conference in conference games with an average of 11.0 rebounds a game. 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 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 Jan. 19 and 21. 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 seven against San Diego on Jan. 26. Angley currently has 952 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.

Tiedeman Shoots and Scores
Sophomore Zac Tiedeman started his sixth game of the season at shooting guard on Jan. 21 vs. Pepperdine 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. Overall, he has now started seven games.

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.

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 35.2 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, 38 against Pepperdine on Jan. 21 and 38 at San Diego on Jan. 26.

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 13 of its 19 games this season and have been outrebounded in five games, Stanford on Dec. 19, Niagara on Dec. 29, San Jose State on Jan. 7, Saint Mary's on Jan. 12 and at San Diego on Jan. 26. 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 604-522 for a +4.3 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 19 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 .460, (23-for-50) followed by Johnson at .431 (25-of-58) and Angley (.392, 29-for-74). The record for 3-point percentage for the season is .454, set by Steve Nash in 1994-95. As a team, SCU is shooting .396 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 98 assists in the first 19 games he has now passed John Woolery (1990-94) and Steve Kenilvort (1982-86) for fifth all-time and has 440 career assists. Next on the list is Kyle Bailey (2001-05), who has 452 career assists.

Angley More Top 10s
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 San Diego, the Redding, Calif. native, now has 99 starts, moving him into a tie with Steve Kenilvort (1982-86) for fourth 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 3,249 all-time. That number places him seventh 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 38 blocks in the first 19 games this year, Bryant now has 124 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 110 games in his career at Santa Clara after starting against San Diego on Jan. 26. He will enter the top 10 in school history for games played if he appears in five 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 105 in his career.

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 (.488), first in 3-point field goal percentage (.396), first in scoring defense (62.1), second in free throw percentage (.711) and third in assists (14.6). Individually, John Bryant was second in scoring (17.3), tied for first in rebounding (9.2), first in field goal percentage (.590) and second in blocked shots (2.00). He is also first in double doubles with eight. Brody Angley was second in assists (5.16), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58), eighth in steals (1.42) 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 .460 and .431.