Dec. 20, 2007

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

Next Game
The Santa Clara Broncos play their second straight road game Saturday, Dec. 22 against Minnesota. The Broncos and Golden Gophers tip off at 4 p.m. PT and the game will be broadcast live on ESPNU. Fans can also listen to the game on 1220 KNTS and SantaClaraBroncos.com. The game marks just the third meeting between Santa Clara and Minnesota and the first since the 1992-93 season. The Broncos are looking for their sixth road win of the season.

Last Game
The Stanford Cardinal came out strong and earned a convincing 74-48 win over the Santa Clara Broncos on Dec. 19 at Maples Pavilion. SCU shot just 23 percent from the floor in the first half to fall behind 29-17 at the break. A 21-4 run to start the second half put the game away for the Cardinal. John Bryant led Santa Clara with 17 points and nine rebounds, while Brody Angley added 10 points and four steals in the defeat. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak by Santa Clara against the Cardinal.

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. 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 7-4 start in his career at SCU.

SCU vs. Minnesota
Series Record: Minnesota leads 2-0
First Meeting: Dec. 13, 1990, Minnesota won 73-63 at Minnesota
Record at SCU: Minnesota leads 1-0
Record at Minnesota: Minnesota leads 1-0
Record at Neutral Site: 0-0
Biggest SCU Win: None
Biggest Minnesota Win: 87-63 (24), Dec. 23, 1992 at Santa Clara
Notes: The Broncos have played just one other game at Williams Arena in Minnesota ... SCU lost 73-63 to the Golden Gophers on Dec. 13, 1990 ... Rhea Taylor led SCU with 18 points ... Melvin Chinn added 14 points and Ron Reis had 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss ... Santa Clara kept it close throughout and shot 9-for-16 from beyond the arc, led by Taylor, who shot 5-for-7 on threes ... Minnesota had reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 1990.

Last Game vs. Minnesota
Minnesota defeated Santa Clara 87-63 on Dec. 23, 1992 at Toso Pavilion. The Golden Gophers got out to a 53-29 halftime lead and never looked back. Steve Nash led Santa Clara with 15 points and six rebounds. He was the only Bronco to reach double figures. Minnesota shot 54 percent from the floor, while the Broncos hit just 38 percent of their shots.

Bryant Recovers
Junior center John Bryant had a slow start against Stanford on Dec. 19, going 1-for-8 from the floor in the first half. However, he recovered in the second half, going 4-for-5 from the floor and hitting three foul shots to finish the game with 17 points. He just missed a double double with nine rebounds.

Angley Steals
Bronco senior Brody Angley had a season high four steals against Stanford on Dec. 19, including steals on back-to-back possessions. He now leads SCU with 18 steals, three times more than the closest teammate.

Ranked Foes
Stanford was the first ranked opponent that Santa Clara has faced this season. The Cardinal entered the game on Dec. 19 ranked No. 25 in the ESPN/USA Today Poll. Last season, Santa Clara faced two ranked teams in the non-conference schedule, Nevada and Air Force.

Bryant Double Doubles
John Bryant has posted four double doubles this season for Santa Clara after scoring 14 points and grabbing 12 rebounds against Montana on Dec. 17. He also had double doubles against Cal State Monterey Bay on Nov. 9, Sacramento State on Nov. 25 and San Jose State on Dec. 8. Bryant had five double doubles in 2006-07 and four double doubles as a freshman during the 2005-06 season.

Shooting
Santa Clara shot 50 percent from the floor against Montana on Dec. 17, marking the fifth time in six games that SCU shot 50 percent or better. SCU is shooting 51 percent for the season to lead the West Coast Conference and place in the top 10 nationally.

Double Digits
Santa Clara defeated Montana by 11 points on Dec. 17. The Broncos have earned six of their seven victories by 10 points or more this season. Their only single-digit win was a nine-point victory over Eastern Washington on Nov. 29.

Free Throw Line
SCU has improved significantly at the free throw line this season through 11 games. The Broncos are shooting 73 percent from the charity stripe this year after shooting 67 percent last season.

Henke Season High
Senior Mitch Henke had his best game of the season against Pacific on Dec. 12, scoring a season-high 21 points, just one point shy of his career high. He also had five rebounds and three assists in the game.

Bryant Over 20
Junior center John Bryant scored 21 points against San Jose State on Dec. 8. He has now scored 20 or more points in six of 11 games this season and has scored in double figures in every game.

Angley Hot Despite Injury
Santa Clara senior point guard Brody Angley got poked in the eye late in the Broncos' game on Nov. 29 at Eastern Washington, forcing him to the sidelines of that game. However, he checked back in to that game and hit two late free throws to help seal a 66-57 win. Angley wore a patch on his eye all day on Nov. 30 to help his scratched eye heal. After removing the patch, Angley was cleared to play by the Broncos' medical staff at Utah State on Dec. 1. Despite the eye injury, Angley had the best offensive showing of his career against the Aggies. He scored a career high 22 points on 9-for-17 shooting, while also dishing out six assists. His three-pointer and assist to John Bryant for a three-point play helped SCU cut an 11-point deficit to two points, before the Aggies escaped with a win. He continued his strong play with 15 points and seven rebounds against San Jose State in a win on Dec. 8.

Angley Hits Century Mark
Senior Brody Angley has now appeared in 102 games in his career at Santa Clara after starting against Stanford on Dec. 19. He will enter the top 10 in school history for games played if he appears in 13 more games. The school's all-time record of 127 is held by Kyle Bailey (2001-05.)

Big Sky Opponents
Santa Clara defeated Montana 60-49 on Dec. 17 to complete a three-game sweep of Big Sky opponents this season. SCU beat Sacramento State 77-65 on Nov. 25 in its first game of three this season against Big Sky conference opponents. SCU then knocked off Eastern Washington on Nov. 29 by a 66-57 score to move to 2-0 against Big Sky competition this year. Last season, SCU defeated Eastern Washington 91-68 and in 2005-06, SCU lost to Montana 67-56. Both games were at the Leavey Center.

Career High Again
Freshman Ben Dowdell had a career high nine points on Dec. 8 in the Broncos' win against San Jose State, going 4-for-5 from the floor. His two steals against the Spartans were also a career high. Dowdell topped that effort in the Broncos' win over Montana on Dec. 17 with 10 points, while tying his career high with two steals.

Henke Heats Up
It was deja vu at the Event Center on Dec. 8 for Broncos senior Mitch Henke. Against the San Jose State Spartans, Henke opened the second half with two 3-pointers and a basket in the paint to lead SCU on an 8-0 run. On Nov. 29, Henke also opened the second half with two 3-pointers and an inside basket to lead SCU on an 8-0 run against Eastern Washington. His personal 8-0 run against San Jose State turned a four-point lead to 12, while his run against Eastern Washington turned a five-point lead to 13 points.

Higgins Appears
Senior Josh Higgins made his first appearance of the season on Dec. 8 against San Jose State, playing one minute. He scored his first basket and played a season high nine minutes against Stanford on Dec. 19. The Broncos' center had missed the first seven games with a left knee injury.

Bryant Named WCC POM
The West Coast Conference announced Dec. 5 that Santa Clara University center John Bryant was named the WCC Co-Player of the Month for November along with Patty Mills of Saint Mary's. The junior from San Pablo, Calif. had an outstanding month of November, leading the Broncos to a 5-1 record in the month, including four road wins. For the month, he shot 55-of-78 from the floor for an incredible .705 to lead the league, while placing second in blocks with 15. He was second in scoring at 22.0 points per game and fourth in rebounding at 8.7 rebounds per game. His numbers placed him in the top 20 in the nation in scoring, top 10 in field goal percentage and top 40 in blocks per game.

Henke Candidate for Senior CLASS Award
Santa Clara University men's basketball player Mitch Henke has been named an official candidate for the 2007-08 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. Henke, a senior forward for the Broncos, joins 29 other senior male basketball players as candidates for the award. The award - presented annually to the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete of the Year in eight sports - focuses on the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. Lowe's, an official corporate partner of the NCAA will award the winner with a trophy during the men's NCAA Final Four weekend. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award was launched during the 2001-02 season to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who remain committed to their university and pursue the many rewards that a senior season and complete college education brings.

On the Boards
Santa Clara has held the rebounding edge in eight of its 11 games this season and have been outrebounded once, at Stanfrod on Dec. 19. 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 347-293 for a +4.9 margin.

Food Drive
Santa Clara University and San Jose State University have teamed up with Second Harvest Food Bank to create the first ever Rivalry Series Food Drive. The holiday food drive runs from Dec. 8-Jan. 7 in conjunction with the home-and-home series between the universities' men's basketball teams. Food collection bins and coin jars will be available at all Santa Clara men's and women's home basketball games from Wednesday, Dec. 8-Monday, Jan. 7 to collect donations. The Broncos play at San Jose State on Dec. 8 and then host the Spartans at the Leavey Center on Jan. 7. Fans donating at least six dollars or two (full serving) canned good items will be given a 2-for-1 coupon to purchase general admission tickets for the Jan. 7 game. Fans can donate to the cause in a number of other ways. Donations can be made online at the Second Harvest Food Bank website at https://fooddrive.shfoodbank.com/. Food and cash donations can also be dropped off at the Santa Clara Athletic Department Marketing and Promotions office and mail-in donations can be sent to SCU Athletic Department, Attn. Food Drive, Athletic Marketing and Promotions, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053.

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 Dec. 16. The Broncos were second in field goal percentage at .521, 13th in three-point percentage at .429, tied for 33rd in rebound margin at +6.9, and 45th in assists per game at 16.6. Individually, John Bryant was also among the nation's best. As of Dec. 16, John Bryant was 25th in scoring at 20.7 points per game, 24th in field goal percentage at 62.5 and 48th in blocks at 2.2 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 Dec. 20, SCU was first in field goal percentage (.509), first in 3-point field goal percentage (.441), first in free throw percentage (.725), second in rebound margin (+4.9), second in scoring defense (61.6), and second in assists (16.2). Individually, John Bryant was second in scoring (19.7), fourth in rebounding (8.6), second in field goal percentage (.583) and third in blocked shots (2.18). Brody Angley was second in assists (4.73), fifth in free throw percentage (.846), third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.58) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (.517). Calvin Johnson was tied for second in 3-pointers made per game (2.00) and second in 3-point field goal percentage (.486).

Three in a Row
Santa Clara won three straight road games, defeating Utah, Sacramento State and Eastern Washington from Nov. 19-29. The last time a Bronco team won three straight road games was the 2004-05 season. SCU defeated Saint Mary's, Loyola Marymount and Pepperdine from Jan. 15-22, 2005. The most recent streak was snapped on Dec. 1 at Utah State. Santa Clara already has five road wins this season, just two fewer than last season's road win total for the entire season.

Nearly a Record
Santa Clara had a shooting performance for the ages on Nov. 25 at Sacramento State. SCU shot 28-for-39 for the game and 19-for-22 in the second half. For the game, SCU hit .718 percent from the field and in the second half, the team hit .864 percent. The all-time program record for shooting in a game is .719, set on Jan. 4, 1980 against Pepperdine.

Bryant In the Second Half
Santa Clara's junior center John Bryant has been unstoppable in the team's first 11 games, especially in the second half. He scored 13 second half points on 4-for-6 from the floor and grabbed seven rebounds to help the Broncos hold off San Jose State 73-63 on Dec. 8. Against Utah State, he netted 13 second half points on 6-of-7 shooting to finish with 20 for the game. He scored 26 points at Sacramento State, 17 in the second half, on 12-of-15 shooting on Nov. 25. He also scored 17 points in the second half at Utah on Nov. 19 and 14 after intermission at Nevada on Nov. 17. For the season, Bryant is averaging 11.3 points in the second half and is shooting a remarkable .662 from the floor in the second half.

Angley In Top 10
Senior point guard Brody Angley had 119 assists last season, giving him 342 career assists coming into this season. With 52 assists in the first 11 games he has now passed Harold Keeling (1981-85) for seventh all-time and now has 394 career assists. John Woolery (1990-94) is sixth on the list with 422.

Angley More Top 10's
Brody Angley also finds himself in the Top 10 all-time in steals at SCU with 143. He passed Doron Perkins (2003-05) on Dec. 12 with two steals and then passed Chris Lane (1984-88) on Dec. 19 with four steals. He is now sixth all time just four behind Steve Nash (1992-96). Along with steals, Angley now finds himself in the Top 10 all-time in games started as well. After starting against Stanford, the Redding, Calif. native, now has 91 starts, tying him with Jens Gordon (1985-89) for eighth 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.