Dec. 27, 2007

Complete Game Notes in PDF Format

Next Game
The Santa Clara Broncos begin play in the Cable Car Classic on Friday, Dec. 28 against the Denver Pioneers. The game tips off at 6 p.m. PT and can be heard live on KNTS or SantaClaraBroncos.com. The Broncos and Pioneers will be meeting for the second time in the schools' history. The Cable Car is in its 41st year in 2007 and the Broncos have participated in the tournament every year. Santa Clara is 46-34 in the Cable Car and has won 14 titles in its history.

Last Game
The Broncos fell 68-50 to the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Dec. 22 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The Gophers picked up 18 steals and forced a the Broncos into a season-high 26 turnovers. The Broncos trailed 32-21 at halftime and could not get closer than 10 in the second half. Minnesota's Dan Coleman scored 20 points and had six steals in the game. Brody Angley led the Broncos with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, while John Bryant and Calvin Johnson each added 10 points. The game marked SCU's ninth and final non-conference road game this 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 7-5 start in his career at SCU.

SCU vs. Denver
Series Record: Denver leads 1-0
First Meeting: Dec. 27, 1951; Denver won 65-59
Notes: Pioneers freshman guard, Xander McNally is from San Francisco and has appeared in all 10 games for Denver. He attended The Branson School and helped the team win California's Division V title twice.

Scouting Denver
In the first game of the Cable Car, SCU takes on the Denver Pioneers of the Sun Belt Conference. Just like Air Force last season, the Pioneers play a Princeton-style offense. Their head coach, Joe Scott, is a Princeton graduate (1987) and also coached at Princeton from 2004-2007. The Pionners are 4-6 on the season and won their first conference game against North Texas on Dec. 22. The Pioneers are a low scoring team that is averaging 55.5 points per game. Senior David Kummer leads the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game, followed closely by junior Joe Jackson at 10.0 points per game. Kummer, Jackson and sophomore Nate Rohnert have started all 10 games for Denver, while freshman Kyle Lewis has started nine out of 10 games.

All-Time vs. Sun Belt, MEAC and MAAC
Against the current members of the Sun Belt Conference, SCU has earned a 6-2 record, going 0-1 vs. Denver, 3-0 vs. North Texas, 1-0 vs. Western Kentucky, 2-0 vs. New Orleans and 0-1 against Louisiana-Lafayette, which was called Southwest Louisiana when the Broncos faced them in 1984 ... Santa Clara has never lost to a current member of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, posting a 7-0 record all-time against opponents from that conference. SCU is 1-0 vs. Manhattan, 1-0 vs. Marist, 3-0 vs. Loyola (Md.), 1-0 vs. Iona and 1-0 vs. Fairfield ... SCU has played only one current Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference opponent in its history, defeating North Carolina A&T 90-52 at the NABC Classic in Albuquerque, N.M. in 2004.

Cable Car Notes
Santa Clara has played in all 40 Cable Car Classics and posted a 46-34 record, while winning 14 tournament titles ... in the 2007 Cable Car, the Broncos will host two teams that they have never faced and Denver, which they have played one time ... Niagara senior Charron Fisher is one of the nation's leading scorers at 27.3 points per game ... John Bryant was named to the Cable Car All-Tournament team last year, while Brody Angley made it in 2005 as a sophomore ... Santa Clara last won the title in 2005 when the Broncos defeated UC Riverside and Bucknell ... SCU is 7-1 in the its past eight opening night games at the Cable Car ... John Bryant set a career high with 17 rebounds against UC Riverside in the 2005 Cable Car ... the last Sun Belt Conference member to play in the Cable Car was Western Kentucky, who played in the very first Cable Car in 1967. Western Kentucky defeated San Francisco 90-70 before losing 75-68 to Santa Clara ... Marist the last member of the MAAC to participate in the Cable Car, losing 75-49 to Santa Clara and 64-52 to UC Santa Barbara in 1990 ... Morgan State is the first MEAC school to play in the Cable Car Classic.

2006 Cable Car Review
Last season, the Air Force Falcons shot their way to their first Cable Car Classic title, defeating George Washington and Santa Clara. The Falcons set tournament records with 27 3-pointers made and 55 3-pointers attempted. Jacob Burtschi was named the tournament MVP, while Dan Nwaelele won the O'Connor Award and Andrew Henke won the Frandsen award. Air Force defeated George Washington 66-52 in its first game and then beat Santa Clara 78-48 in the Championship Game.

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.

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 12 games. The Broncos are shooting 71 percent from the charity stripe this year after shooting 67 percent last season.

Angley In Top 10
Senior point guard Brody Angley had 119 assists last season, giving him 342 career assists coming into this season. With 58 assists in the first 12 games he has now passed Harold Keeling (1981-85) for seventh all-time and now has 400 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 144. 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 three 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 Minnesota, the Redding, Calif. native, now has 92 starts, moving him past 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.

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 26 blocks in the first 12 games, Bryant now has 112 career blocks, placing him third all-time in blocks in SCU history. Jens Gordon (1985-89) is second with 133.

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 12 games this season and has scored in double figures in every game.

Zimmermann Making Impact
Freshman Andrew Zimmermann continues to make strides as he gets back to full health from a back injury that forced him to miss four games at the start of the season. Zimmermann had nine points and nine rebounds in a season-high 24 minutes against Pacific on Dec. 12. He made his first appearance of the year on Nov. 25 at Sacramento State.

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.

The Century Mark
Senior Brody Angley has now appeared in 103 games in his career at Santa Clara after starting against Minnesota on Dec. 22. He will enter the top 10 in school history for games played if he appears in 12 more games. The school's all-time record of 127 is held by Kyle Bailey (2001-05.) Fellow senior Mitch Henke is currently at 98 games played and should reach the century mark during the Cable Car Classic.