SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball dominated inside and Jalen Williams scored a career-high 30 points to defeat Hawai'i 70-58 in a nonconference game on Tuesday night.
The Broncos (6-2) scored 52 points in the paint, including 20 of the first 22 points to open the second half, to take a commanding 55-40 lead with under eight minutes remaining in the game.
Williams shot 13-for-18 from the field, comfortably getting into the lane on dribble penetration, while Keshawn Justice posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Hawai'i (3-3) cut into the Bronco lead as it scored seven straight between Mate Colina and JoVon McClanahan to get within 55-47, but Williams and Justice answered with six consecutive points to push the lead back to double figures.
Colina and Jerome Desrosiers led Hawai'i with 13 points each but only shot a combined 10 of 26. McClanahan chipped in 12 points.
Overall, the Rainbow Warriors were held to 34-percent shooting from the field compared to 49 percent for the Broncos.
The opening half was evenly contested with eight ties and two lead changes as Hawai'i held a 35-31 advantage at intermission.
Tied at 19-all, Hawai'i scored eight straight in just over a minute to pull ahead 27-19. Three-pointers by McClananhan and Desrosiers sandwiched a jumper by Junior Madut gave the Rainbow Warriors their biggest lead of the opening half.
The Broncos closed the gap before intermission with much of the damage coming in the paint scoring 24 of their 31 first half points.
NOTES
- Keshawn Justice recorded his third double-double of the season.
- Jaden Bediako pulled down a season-best nine rebounds to go with six points in his fifth-straight start in place of Josip Vrankic.
- Justice knocked down multiple 3-point buckets to extend his streak to eight-straight games.
- Jalen Williams now has three 20-plus point games on the season.
POSTGAME VIDEO
. @HerbSendek recaps tonight's win over Hawaii as the Broncos improve to 6-2#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/QWrQ6gxTHr
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 1, 2021
NEXT UP
- The Broncos will face Louisiana Tech at home on Saturday. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m.
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