BERKELEY, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball led by as much as 11 in the opening half on Saturday evening against Cal, but the Broncos were unable to hold on as the Golden Bears used a 14-0 run over the final 4:12 of the half to erase the deficit and go on to win 72-60 inside Haas Pavilion.
Santa Clara (7-4) opening the game with a bucket on their first possession and looked to be in the driver's seat for most of the opening 20 minutes. The Broncos took care of business on both ends of the floor as they built a one-point lead at 33-22 with just over four minutes to play. Unfortunately, the hot start was not sustained and the Golden Bears took advantage with their big run to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room. Giordan Williams led the Broncos at the break with nine points on three 3-pointers.
The Broncos went toe-to-toe with Cal for the first 14 minutes of the second half as the Golden Bears were unable to build more than a six-point advantage. Santa Clara was able to erase the deficit completely with 6:36 reminaining after Keshawn Justice drained two free throws to complete a four-point swing. Cal took the lead right back on the ensuing possession, but PJ Pipes converted a hard layup to tie the game once again at the 5:45 mark at 53-53. Cal then had the final say as they closed the door with a 17-7 run to finish the game, knocking down all six free throw attempts in the final minute to seal the deal.
Justice led the Broncos with 13 points and was just shy of his fifth double-double with nine rebounds. Jalen Williams chipped in 12 points and Giordan Williams finished with 11. Santa Clara finished the night with a 40 percent shooting clip (24-60) and was 6-of-21 from 3-point range.
Cal (6-5) was led by Andre Kelly's 18 points and eight rebounds. They were 29-of-62 from the floor (46.8 percent) and were held to just 4-of-11 on 3-point attempts. The Golden Bears won the rebounding battle 44-26.
NOTES
- Jalen Williams and Keshawn Justice both reached double figure scoring to extend their streaks to 11-straight games.
- The game was Santa Clara's first true road game of the season.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Coach Sendek's post game thoughts. #StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/sIEMvqGLoy
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) December 12, 2021
NEXT UP
Santa Clara returns to action on Tuesday, Dec. 14, with a road contest against Boise State in Idaho. The game will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
