Men Travel to Portland Saturday
Santa Clara (16-12, 6-5 WCC) travels to Portland to play the Pilots (18-9, 5-6 WCC) in a 5:30 pm game on Sat., Feb. 19. The game vs. the Pilots will be televised on Comcast Northwest with Scott Lynn, Dwight Jaynes and Brooke Olzendam teaming up to the make the call.
It is the 81st career meeting between the two teams with Santa Clara leading 20-18 in Portland. Santa Clara won 72-59 on Jan. 22 behind Kevin Foster's 19 points. Portland swept the season series last year with the two teams splitting it the year before.
Santa Clara is coming off a 85-76 loss at Gonzaga on Thursday and Portland was defeated at home by USF 82-73 the same night.
Listen
The Portland game will be broadcast via the Bronco Radio Network on both KDOW 1220 AM and Broncos All-Access on the web at www.SantaClaraBroncos.com with the broadcast beginning at 5:15 pm. Anthony Passarelli is in his fourth season as the Broncos' play-by-play announcer. Coach Kerry Keating can be heard on KDOW 1220 AM on Sunday evenings from 9:10-9:20 pm in his radio spotlight on The Sports Ramble with an interview conducted by Passarelli. Out of the listening area, KDOW is streamed online live at www.1220kdow.com.
Us
The Broncos are scoring 72.8 ppg while giving up 70.1 ppg. They are rebounding 35.5 to their opponent's 31.9 and shooting 43.0 percent from the field, including 35.3 percent beyond the arc. SCU has had three players in double figures all season: Kevin Foster (19.5), Marc Trasolini (11.7) and Evan Roquemore (11.0). Scoring double figures in 26 games this season, Foster, No. 30 in the country in scoring, leads the WCC overall and conference games in ppg and threes per game. Second nationally in threes made per game, he leads the country in threes made and attempted (Feb. 18). Trasolini and Troy Payne lead the team with 5.6 rpg each; and Trasolini swats a team-leading 1.0 bpg. Trasolini has five career double-doubles. Roquemore leads the team with 4.0 apg and Payne is in front with 1.8 spg. Foster has led the team in scoring 20 of its 28 games this season. SCU is 10-5 when Roquemore dishes 4+ assists and 5-0 when Payne collects double-digit rebounds.
Defender
Troy Payne, one of the leading candidates for the WCC Defender of the Year, scored his second career double-double in SCU's come-from-behind victory vs. San Diego on Feb. 12. Payne scored 10 points (4 of 5 from the field), adding 10 rebounds as well. Payne has collected 5+ rebounds in 14 straight games, with 7+ the last six games (double figures three times). He is averaging 8.9 rpg in the last eight games, including a season-high 12 at LMU. Four of the last 11 games he has 4+ steals, including a career-high six steals three times (at USD, at Pepperdine and at LMU). Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett had this to say of Payne: "Troy Payne is a really good defender. He makes it really hard when he guards you because he will really disrupt your offense."
I got it!
Santa Clara's steals streak has reached national proportions. Santa Clara's current consecutive games with 6+ steals is the second-longest in Division I with the Broncos collecting 10+ steals six times during the streak. A week ago the Broncos followed Louisville, Valparaiso and Houston Baptist, but Louisville and Valpo both had their streaks snapped over the weekend. The Broncos are 10-2 when collecting 8+ steals this year. Check out the top 2:
1. 20 - Houston Baptist (7-12-10-6-8-11-7-9-10-10-6-9-6-11-10-8-9-6-7-7)
2. 19 - Santa Clara (8-8-10-6-7-10-14-6-9-6-6-7-11-14-11-6-7-8-7)
Turned It UP!
Ben Dowdell, acknowledging earlier this season that his senior year "will be the one that defines my Bronco career", has posted double figure scoring in nine games this season, including five of the last eight. Dowdell tied his career-high with 22 points vs. Portland on Jan. 22. He last scored 22 vs. Niagara on Dec. 29, 2007. The total vs. the Pilots topped his previous career-high in WCC play from his freshman year (21 vs. Dons on Feb. 25, 2008).
Starting all 28 games this year, Dowdell is averaging 7.9 ppg and 4.4 rpg. Dowdell has posted double figures 24 times in his career: 10 times this year, five times his junior year and nine times his rookie campaign.
He has played in 118 career games with 88 career starts. With his play vs. San Diego, he vaulted into the Broncos' career games played top 10 list. He is No. 8. Dan Weiss (1984-88) is No. 7 with 119 and Jens Gordon is No. 6 with 120 (1985-87). Santa Clara has at least four games left and if he plays in each game, he will be tied with Brody Angley (2004-08) and Mitch Burley (1985-89) with 122 games played at No. 3 all-time.
Dowdell will also finish in the top 10 in personal fouls in a career as he has 361 career fouls, good for a tie at No. 3 on the list. He needs six to pass Kurt Rambis at No. 2 (1976-80).
Dowdell on Career Charts Games Played
1. Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 127
2. John Bryant (2005-09) 124
3. Brody Angley (2004-2008) 122
Mitch Burley (1985-89) 22
5. Jason Sedlock (1992-97) 21
6. Jens Gordon (1985-89) 20
7. Dan Weiss (1984-88) 19
8. Ben Dowdell (2007 - ) 118
9. Mitch Henke (2004-08) 117
Brian Jones (1996-01) 17
Travis Niesen (2002-06) 117
Personal Fouls
1. Jens Gordon (1985-89) 96
2. Kurt Rambis (1976-80) 66
3. Ben Dowdell (2007 - ) 361
4. Dan Weiss (1984-88) 58
5. Mike Norman (1980-84) 56
6. Jason Sedlock (1992-97) 44
7. Brian Jones (1996-01) 39
8. John Bryant (2005-09) 37
9. Todd Wuschnig (1996-00) 26
10. Travis Niesen (2002-06) 301
Out and About
With a four of 10 performance from beyond the arc vs. No. 23 Saint Mary's on Feb. 10, Kevin Foster broke two single season records. His own records as a matter of fact. Foster broke Nash's single season record (84) as a freshman in 2009 with 85. Heading to Portland after knocking down eight threes at Gonzaga, he now has hit 98 threes this season in 262 attempts. He is five from moving into the top 10 for points scored in a season with 547, good for No. 11.
Foster is tied for No. 10 with five other players from the West Coast Conference for threes made in a season. The other four WCC players that have hit 98 in a season: Jared Stohl of Portland (2010), Ross DeRogatis of USD (2007), Blake Stepp of Gonzaga (2003) and Casey Frandsen of Portland (2002). The WCC single season record is 126 by Jeff Fryer of LMU in 1989. He is also No. 2 on the list with 121 in 1990.
Foster's career-best prior to the Gonzaga game on Jan. 20 was the 31 he scored as a freshman at Saint Mary's (Jan. 9, 2009) and his season-best was the 29 he scored in overtime vs. Washington State on Dec. 19, 2010. Foster dropped a new career-high on the Zags with 36 that night (11 of 20 and 6 of 14 from 3; 8 of 10 FT). The 36 points are the sixth-most ever for a Bronco at home and the most a player has scored vs. Gonzaga since Pepperdine's Keion Bell scored 37 points on Jan. 21, 2010.
Foster crushed eight threes on Jan. 8 vs. USF and then another eight at Gonzaga on Feb. 17. Foster's eight threes tied the school record set by Steve Nash (8 at Gonzaga on Jan. 19, 1995) and Mitch Burley (8 vs. Nevada-Reno, Dec. 14, 1988). Foster attempted 20 threes in the USF game, shooting 40.0 percent from beyond the arc. The attempts mark shattered Burley's school record set back in 1988 (17) and Nash's in 1995 (17). The 20 attempts also shattered the WCC record set by Jeff Fryer of LMU vs. Santa Clara on Feb. 24, 1989 when he attempted 18. It was also the Leavey Center record.
Then-junior Dan Dickau of Gonzaga holds the Leavey Center record. He was nine of 13 from beyond the arc vs. SCU on Feb. 22, 2001. He scored 39 points that day (11 of 18 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free throw line). But SCU won the war that day, coming away with an 84-71 victory as Steve Ross hit 10 of 14 free throws to score 22 for the Broncos.
Foster-Fest
Single Season Records
Three-Pointers Made
1. Kevin Foster (2010-11) 98 2. Kevin Foster (2008-09) 85
3. Steve Nash (1994-95) 4
4. Steve Ross (2001-02) 74
5. Marlon Garnett (1996-97) 9
Three-Pointers Attempted
1. Kevin Foster (2010-11) 262
2. Kevin Foster (2008-09) 232
3. Kyle Bailey (2004-05) 198
4. Steve Nash (1994-95) 85
Marlon Garnett (1996-97) 85
Points
1. Dennis Awtrey (1968-69) 19
2. Dennis Awtrey (1969-70) 14
3. John Bryant (2008-09) 596
4. Ralph Ogden (1969-70) 90
5. Harold Keeling (1983-84) 85
6. Harold Keeling (1984-85) 74
7. Steve Nash (1994-95) 65
8. Russ Vrankovich (1963-64) 61
9. John Bryant (2007-08) 558
10. Mike Stewart (1971-72) 51
11. Kevin Foster (2010-11) 547
12. Nick Vanos (1983-84) 44
13. Ken Sears (1954-55) 35
14. Kurt Rambis (1979-90) 29
15. Travis Niesen (2005-06) 528
16. Mike Gervasoni (1966-67) 22
Jens Gordon (1988-89) 22
18. Londale Theus (1978-79) 03
19. Brian Jones (2000-01) 97
20. Rhea Taylor (1990-91) 95
21. Steve Nash (1995-96) 92
Career Records
1,000 Points Scored (Top 22 of 28)
1. Kurt Rambis (1976-80) ,736
2. Harold Keeling (1981-85) ,731
3. Brian Jones (1996-01) ,722
4. Steve Nash (1992-96) ,689
5. Dennis Awtrey (1967-70) ,675
6. John Bryant (2005-09) 1,667
7. Londale Theus (1976-80) ,643
8. Ken Sears (1951-55) ,586
9. Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 1,571
10. Mike Stewart (1970-73) ,446
11. Bud Ogden (1966-69) ,437
12. Nick Vanos (1981-85) ,399
13. Mike Gervasoni (1964-67) ,393
14. Travis Niesen (2002-06) 1,380
15. Jens Gordon (1985-89) ,356
16. Marlon Garnett (1993-97) ,346
17. Ralph Ogden (1967-70) ,280
18. Mitch Burley (1985-89) ,258
19. Frank Sobrero (1957-60) ,256
20. Ron Reis (1988-92) ,246
21. Nathan Fast (1996-00) ,182
22. Kevin Foster (2008- ) 1,152
Three-Pointers Made
1. Steve Nash (1992-96) 63
2. Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 225
3. Marlon Garnett (1993-97) 10
4. Kevin Foster (2008-) 205
5. Ethan Rohde (2002-05) 192
Three-Pointers Attempted
1. Kyle Bailey (2001-05) 679
2. Steve Nash (1992-95) 56
3. Kevin Foster (2008-) 565
4. Marlon Garnett (1993-97) 528
5. Brian Jones (1996-01) 526
Freshman Finery
Evan Roquemore, a legit candidate for the WCC Newcomer of the Year, is 114 of 142 from the charity stripe in his rookie campaign. He has already broken the free throws made freshman record this year and is now working towards the school record in free throws attempted and assists. The school record for free throws made was 98 by then-freshman Brian Jones (1996-97). Jones still owns the freshman record for free throws attempted with 142. Roquemore needs four attempts to break that record, sitting at No. 2 on the list and he needs nine assists to break the assists record.
Roquemore has started 19 straight games after coming off the bench the first eight games of his freshman year. Averaging 11.0 ppg, a team-leading 4.0 apg and 3.5 rpg, he had a career-high eight assists at Saint Mary's and at Gonzaga; and a career-high with 18 points vs. Northern Colorado. He has been perfect at the free throw line in nine games this year: 6 of 6 vs. Rice, 10 of 10 vs. Northern Colorado, 6 of 6 at San Jose State, 7 of 7 vs. Washington State, 6 of 6 at CSU Northridge, 1 of 1 at Saint Mary's, 8 of 8 vs. Gonzaga, 2 of 2 at LMU and 6 of 6 vs. San Diego.
Rocking Rookie Records
Assists(Records kept since 1972-73)
1. Brian Jones (1996-97) 119
2. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 111
Points
1. Kevin Foster (2008-09) 486
9. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 308
Scoring Average
1. Kurt Rambis (1976-77) 15.3
10. Evan Roquemore 2010-11) 11.0
Three-Pointers Made
1. Kevin Foster (2008-09) 85
9. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 38
Three-Pointers Attempted
1. Kevin Foster (2008-09) 32
9. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 99
Three-Point FG Pct. (Min. 20 made)
1. Steve Nash (1992-93) 408
5. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) .384
Free Throws Made
1. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 114
2. Brian Jones (1996-97) 98
Free Throws Attempted
1. Brian Jones (1996-97) 142
2. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 139
Free Throw %(Min. 30 made)
1. Steve Nash (1992-93) .825
2. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) .820
Steals
1. Steve Kenilvort (1982-83) 98
10. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 26
Ray Cowels (2009-10) 26 Steve Nash (1992-93) 26
Minutes Played
1. Robert Smith (2009-10) 1,049
9. Evan Roquemore (2010-11) 776
Say Something Nice About Each of Us
0 (Roquemore) - WCC Newcomer of the Year candidate. Named No. 20 Freshman nationally this season by BasketballProspectus.com in January (only WCC player in top 25). Broke the Bronco freshman school record for free throws made with 100 at USF. 13 of the last 21 games he has hit double figures, including 13 vs. Gonzaga, 14 at Pepperdine, 16 at USF, 12 vs. San Diego and 16 at Gonzaga. Dished out a career-high eight assists at Saint Mary's and at Gonzaga; and scored a career-high 18 points vs. Northern Colorado.
01 (Payne) - WCC Defender of the Year candidate. After starting 40 straight games, gave up his starting role for 11 games before earning it back prior to the Zags game. Backed it up in Gonzaga game when he scored a then-season-high 11 points and then aded nine points and nine rebounds vs. Portland. Career-high 6 steals three times this year. Has had 16 games this season with 6+ rebounds. Last season in his first 28 games that had happened eight times. Second career double-double vs. USD (10/10).
03 (Cunningham) - Hasn't played in the past 11 games due to a bad back. He started the previous eight games and was shooting a career-best 61.9 percent this season. (seventh-best shooting percentage in Bronco history).
04 (Perricone) - Has played in three games this season and hit his first career field goal in the first game (HBU) and a three-pointer in two games: Bethany and UCSC.
10 (Dowdell) - Tied a career-high with 22 points in the win over Portland. Previous career-high came his freshman year vs. Niagara on Dec. 29, 2007. Shot season-best 7 of 10 from the field, making 8 of 10 free throws. Has 11 games this season with 5+ rebounds and hit double-figures in six of the last nine games, including 12 vs. No. 23 Saint Mary's.
13 (Santos) - Gave SCU 16 minutes off the bench vs. Gonzaga and followed it up with 20 minutes in Portland win. Had season-high six rebounds and career-high four assists vs. Bethany.
14 (Gamble) - Hit his first career points with two three-pointers vs. Bethany. He put up four shots and grabbed two rebounds during that span as well. Hit two free throws in career-high six minutes vs. UC Santa Cruz.
15 (Trasolini) - Has hit double figures 12 of the last 16 games. 43 points from a career 1,000 points (would be 29th player in school history). Has 50 career double-figure games and 27 15+ point games. His five career double-doubles rank No. 1 on the team this year. Is the only player in the WCC to be named to the Capital One Academic All-District team the past two years. Sports a 3.51 GPA in Finance.
21 (Foster) - No. 22 in career points with 1,152. First sophomore in WCC history and 28th Bronco player overall to score 1,000+ career points. Scored a career-high 36 points in the Gonzaga win - the sixth-best ever by a Bronco in a home game. First player in school history to hit six plus threes in three games in a season. He has now done it seven times this year after hitting eight at Gonzaga!
22 (Mensah) - Fourth-year walk-on hit his first career free throws and first career three-pointers in the five games he has played in this year. Has already been accepted to the Law Schools at Santa Clara University and American University; and is waiting to hear back from Cornell, Georgetown, George Washington and Howard.
24 (Clarke) - Has only played in three games early due to a foot injury.
25 (McArthur) - His 11 rebounds vs. Santa Cruz were the most for a Bronco freshman since John Bryant snagged 13 vs. Portland on Jan. 7, 2006. After being named the Bay Area Player of the Year out of famed De La Salle last year, he hit his first career three at Gonzaga on Thursday.
31 (Harrison) - Scored a season-high 12 points at Pepperdine, his first time in double figures this season after hitting double figures nine times last season.
33 (Bach) - Carrying a 3.48 grade point average in Marketing, he has come off the bench in four games this season, including 12 minutes vs. Bethany where he dished out a career-best four assists. Scored career-high 9 points in career-high 14 minutes vs. UC Santa Cruz.
42 (Cowels) - Starting in nine games this season and 20 throughout his two-year career, Cowels hit a season-high four threes vs. Northern Colorado and was 6 of 6 from the free throw line vs. Washington State. He scored a career-high 24 points vs. NCAA Tournament-bound Wofford last season, hitting five threes.
44 (Atanga) - The Yaounde, Cameroon native is being red-shirted this season.