SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Sophomore guard Brandin Podziemski had one of his best games in a Bronco Uniform on Saturday afternoon, scoring a career-high 38 points - his third point outing of the season. Unfortunately for Santa Clara men's basketball it wasn't enough as Pacific, the top 3-point shooting team in the WCC, did what they do best by knocking down 17 treys, which proved to be too much down the stretch. The Broncos fell 95-89, breaking a five-game win streak over the Tigers, and dropped to 16-7, 4-4 on the year.
As they've done all season, the trio of Podziemski, Keshawn Justice and Carlos Stewart accounted for the bulk of SCU's points. Podziemski was 13-for-21 (both career highs) from the floor and tied his career-high best of six treys. The Greenfield, Wisc., product also pulled down nine rebounds - just shy of his eighth double-double - and had three assists. Justice chipped in 13 points with five rebounds and Stewart scored 10 points, all in the second half, to go with a team-best four assists.
Underclassmen Camaron Tongue and Christoph Tilly were also impressive off the bench for the second-straight game. Tongue tied his career-best for both points (8) and rebounds (6) while Tilly scored five points to go with three rebounds.
Santa Clara shot the ball well at a 51.6 percent clip (33-of-64), including a 54.3 percent mark in the second half. It's the fifth time this season that the Broncos have shot 50 percent or better, and the first time they have lost when doing so.
As good as the Broncos' offensive numbers were, Pacific's were better. The Tigers (11-12, 4-4) were nearly identical overall from the floor (33-of-62), but it was their 3-point shooting that made the difference. Pacific was 17-for-31 (54.8 percent) from beyond the arc with Keylan Boone and Luke Adalovic combining for 11 of those treys. The duo finished the game with a combined 50 points.
Santa Clara dug themselves out of an early hole, using a 14-2 run in the first half to erase a 10-point deficit and lead by six midway through the period. Pacific regained the lead late in the half, finishing with an 8-2 run that included a trey right at the buzzer to take a 46-39 lead into the locker room.
That lead quickly grew to 12 in the early stages of the second half, but the Broncos chipped away at the deficit. With just 5:45 remaining, Tongue scored on consecutive possessions to make it a one-point game at 74-73. However, as they did all night, Pacific used the long ball to answer back, scoring back-to-back treys to push the lead back to seven and extended the lead to 10 with under a minute to play. Podziemski knocked down two free throws and a deep trey of his own to cut it back to five with 22 seconds remaining, but it was as close as the Broncos would get.
The Broncos return to action next week with back-to-back road games beginning Thursday against No. 9/10 Gonzaga in Spokane.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW
Coach Sendek discussed tonight's loss with @PassarelliVoice on the postgame show#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/A7detRX5FA
— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 29, 2023
GAME NOTES
- Podziemski's 38 points are tied for the 10th-highest scoring game in program history and the most Jared Brownridge scored 38 against Portland on Jan. 30, 2016.
- The Broncos' 89 points tied for their second-most this season.
