Santa Clara Heads to Reno to Take on Nevada Saturday Night at 7 p.m.

Posted: Nov 15, 2007

Nov. 15, 2007

Next Game
Santa Clara continues its season-high seven-game road stretch Saturday, Nov. 17 against the Nevada Wolfpack. The Broncos have defeated two non-Division I opponents in their first two games and now face the West Athletic Conference's top team. The game tips off at 7 p.m. PT and fans can catch all the action on 1220 KNTS or SantaClaraBroncos.com. Santa Clara is looking for its first 3-0 start since 2002-03. Last season, the Wolfpack pulled away late to earn a 78-70 win over SCU at the Leavey Center.

Last Game
Santa Clara burst out to a 17-0 lead to start the game and never looked back in an 82-55 win over Simpson University on Nov. 13. The game, played at Shasta College in Redding, Calif., was a homecming for senior Brody Angley, who starred at Enterprise High School in Redding. John Bryant scored a career high 29 points in just 19 minutes to lead the Broncos, while Angley netted 10 points in his return home. The Broncos led by as many as 29 in the game over the NAIA Redhawks of Simpson University.

Head Coach Kerry Keating
Santa Clara University named Kerry Keating head coach on April 6, 2007. In his first season on the Mission Campus, Keating, 36, comes to SCU with a long coaching backgroud at a number of top programs. 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 2-0 start in his career.

SCU vs. Nevada
Series Record: SCU leads 34-25
First Meeting: Nevada 30-24 win on Mar. 1, 1913
Record at SCU: SCU leads 21-8
Record at Nevada: Nevada leads 17-12
Record at Neutral Site: SCU leads 1-0
Biggest SCU Win: 98-54, Jan. 8, 1972
Biggest Nevada Win: 92-61, Dec. 16, 1985
Kerry Keating vs. Nevada: 0-0
Notes: Nevada played in the WCC from 1969-79 ... Nevada defeated the Broncos 78-70 last season at the Leavey Center on Nov. 25, 2006 ... SCU had won eight straight games over Nevada at home prior to last year ... Nevada reached the NCAA Tournament second round last season ... the Wolf Pack had a 27-6 record in 2005-06 ... Wolf Pack assistant coach David Carter playedfor Saint Mary's from 1985-89 ... Carter was also an assistant at Saint Mary's from 1997-99.

Last Game vs. Nevada
The Broncos made their first seven shots against Nevada on Nov. 25, 2006 to stay even with the nation's No. 21 ranked team. However, a late Nevada surge gave the Wolf Pack a 78-70 win at the Leavey Center. Sean Denison set a career high with 23 points while Danny Pariseau added 13. The Broncos got within four points in the final minute, but could not get any closer as Nevada won its fifth straight game. Nick Fazekas scored 28 points and had 15 rebounds for Nevada and Ramon Sessions added 16 points for the Pack. The only starter from the 2007-08 team that started in that game, Marcelus Kemp, scored 11 points against SCU. Brody Angley had nine points and seven assists, while John Bryant had 10 points and 11 rebounds for Santa Clara.

VS. WAC Opponents
The Broncos played four Western Athletic Conference opponents last year and finished with a 3-1 record against them, beating San Jose State, Hawai'i and Utah State while losing to the Nevada Wolf Pack. Against the eight current members of the WAC, SCU has earned a 154-71 record.

Angley In Top 10
Senior point guard Brody Angley had 119 assists last season, giving him 342 career assists coming into this season. With four assists in the first two games he has now passed Harold Keeling (1981-85) for seventh all-time with 346 career assists. John Woolery (1990-94) is sixth on the list with 422.

Angley More Top 10s
Brody Angley also finds himself in the Top 10 all-time in steals at SCU with 127. He is ninth all-time, five behind Lacoby Phillips (1988-92). Along with steals, Angley should find himself in the Top 10 all-time in games started as well. The Redding, Calif. native now has 82 starts, four shy of Londale Theus (1976-80), who is in 10th all-time with 86 games started. 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.

Bryant Moving Up
Center John Bryant blocked 49 shots last season, surpassing his 37 from the 2005-06 season. Bryant's 49 blocks are the third highest single season total in school history. He surpassed Jens Gordon (1987-88), who had 48. After six blocks in the first two games, Bryant now has 92 career blocks, a total that places him fourth all-time in blocks in SCU history. He is one behind Kurt Rambis (1976-80), who had 93 in his career.

Bryant Another Career High
Junior center John Bryant has gotten out to a great start this season. He tied his career high with 26 points in the Broncos' season-opening win over Cal State Monterey Bay. Against Simpson on Nov. 13, he went for 29 points to set a new career high. The Broncos center also pulled down 14 rebounds and had four blocks against CSUMB. It was Bryant's first double-double this year after posting five in 2006-07. Then

Road Trip
Santa Clara is in the middle of a stretch of seven games away from home. The Broncos have not had a road stretch this long since the 1996-97 season when the team also played seven in a row away from home. This year, SCU plays Simpson, Nevada, Utah, Sacramento State, Eastern Washington, Utah State and San Jose State during the road trip. In 1996-97, the Broncos faced San Jose State, Fairfield and New Orleans at the MetLife Classic in San Francisco, Eastern Illinois and Indiana at the Indiana Classic in Bloomington, Ind., and finished up with games at Eastern Washington and Pacific. The 1996-97 Broncos went 4-3 on that trip.

Gunner Heats Up
Sophomore Jonathan Gunderson averaged 1.5 points per game last year as a freshman. However, this season he has gotten off to a good start, scoring 14 points against Cal State Monterey Bay and eight against Simpson. At 11 points per game, Gunderson is currently SCU's second leading scorer.

Stuffing the Stat Sheet
Freshman Ben Dowdell has displayed a great all-around game in the Broncos' first two contests. Through two games, he is averaging a team-leading 4.0 assists per game, while also grabbing 6.0 rebounds and scoring 5.5 points per game. He also has one steal and one block so far this year and has started his first two collegiate games.

Firsts
Freshmen Michael Santos and Dominic Johnson scored their first collegiate points against Simpson on Nov. 13. Santos collected six points, while Johnson made two free throws for his first two career points.

Angley Returns Home
Senior Brody Angley returned to his hometown of Redding, Calif. Tuesday night for the game against Simpson University. The game was played at Shasta College against Simpson. Angley was a standout basketball and football player at Enterprise High School in Redding. He helped lead Enterprise to four league and section championships and two state semifinal appearances in his high school career. He was a four-time league MVP and a two-time section MVP during that time. He also set the Northern Section record for career rushing yards with 4,650 yards as a running back. He scored 74 touchdowns during his career at Enterprise. The game will be the first ever between Simpson and Santa Clara.

Newcomers
The 2007-08 Broncos are young team. The team features 10 newcomers and eight freshmen on the roster. Only four players on the team averaged more than 10 minutes a game in 2006-07, Brody Angley, John Bryant, Mitch Henke and Josh Higgins.

Injury Update
Santa Clara has been hit by the injury bug during the early part of the season, as a number of players have missed practice time and games due to injuries. Right now, the team has three players out of action due to injury. Senior Josh Higgins has a left knee injury that will keep him out of the lineup for 4-5 weeks. Freshman Andrew Zimmermann has been battling a back problem and is also out for SCU. Finally, freshman Scott Thompson is still recovering from an appendectomy and is unavailable for the Broncos. Junior Calvin Johnson has been out of action with a low back injury, but he may be available this weekend.