Starting the second half on a 19-6 run after leading 37-31 at the half, Santa Clara cruised to a 84-59 win over Pacifica College Tuesday night in the Leavey Center. The Broncos improved to 6-3 on the season while the Gladiators fell to 2-10.
The Broncos will host the University of the Pacific on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Leavey Center. The game is part of a double-header with the women's team who hosts San Jose St. at 5 p.m. The Broncos are now 3-0 when scoring 80+ points this season.
Kevin Foster and Raymond Cowels III led the Broncos with 14 points each. John McArthur added 12 points and seven rebounds while Evan Roquemore scored 10. Niyi Harrison pulled down nine rebounds while scoring six points.
Robert Garrett and Julian Clarke added career-highs with seven and eight points respectively. Brandon Clark, Foster, and Roquemore all added five-plus assists.
The Gladiators were led by Alex Brandon's 13 points and Craig Levinson and Terry Beazley 12 points. Quincy Spencer added six points and nine rebounds for Pacifica.
Santa Clara shot 50.0 percent (33 of 66) from the field, including 41.9 percent from beyond the arc (13 of 31). The Broncos collected 35 rebounds, 22 assists, 13 steals and two blocks. They shot 55.6 percent from the free throw line (5 of 9) with 11 turnovers. Pacifica shot 47.7 percent (21 of 44) from the field, including 30.8 percent from beyond the arc (4 of 13). The Gladiators collected 27 rebounds, ten assists, seven steals and one block. They shot 76.5 percent from the free throw line (13 of 17) with 19 turnovers.
Cowels III opened things up with a three, but Pacifica scored six of the next eight points to claim a 6-5 lead. Cowels III responded with two wide open threes to tally nine points in the first eight minutes. Foster and Kristoff Thande exchanged threes and Robert Garrett knocked down a free throw at 10:50 to give the Broncos at 10:50.
Garrett threw down a rim rattler from Foster but Jerry Santos finished a reverse layup to answer. The teams exchanged threes and after a Thande free throw Foster knocked down a transition three. Alex Brandon knocked down a pair of free throws and Thande knocked down his third three to make it 25-22 Broncos at 6:50.
Roquemore pushed the lead back to six. The Gladiators knocked down a pair of free throws and Brandon a three to cut the lead to one. Niyi Harrison converted a bucket at 2:59 and Brandon Clark finished a layup with the left hand but the Gladiators answered with an easy lay up off a loose ball.
Roquemore hit a three from the left side for his second of the game and John MaCarthur added a put back before the half ended to make the score 37-31 at the half.
In the first half, Santa Clara shot 43.8 percent (14 of 32) from the field, including 44.4 percent from beyond the arc (8 of 18). The Broncos collected 18 rebounds, eight assists, three steals, and two blocks. They shot 33.3 percent from the free throw line (1 of3) with five turnovers. Pacifica shot 50.0 percent (11 of 22) from the field, including 50.0 percent from beyond the arc (4 of 8). The Gladiators collected 14 rebounds, six assists, two and steals. They shot 71.4 percent from the free throw line (5 of 7) with five turnovers. Foster and Cowels III led the Broncos with nine points each while Roquemore added six points for the Broncos. The Gladiators were led by Thande's 10 points, while Brandon added 9 first half points.
Similar to the first half, Cowels III got the Broncos going with a three. Levinson drilled a two and Brandon converted a lay up to cut the lead to five. McArthur converted the off balance short range jumper, and Roquemore knocked down two free throws.
Cowels III capped an 8-0 run with a reverse layup off a nifty pass from Foster at 15:51, giving the Broncos their biggest lead of the game at 13. The Gladiators knocked down two free throws, but the Broncos kept pushing as MaCarthur finished inside and Niyi Harrison threw down a monster dunk on a touch pass from Foster.
Santa Clara quickly pushed its lead to 19 at 13:31. After a Gladiator bucket, Roquemore got up for a slam of his own in transition. Atanga scored his first bucket on a put back at 11:08 to lift the Broncos to a 60-39 lead.
Foster knocked down a three in transition, Atanga finished on the inside and Foster finished in transition for a quick 7-0 run. Julian Clarke continued the run with a three from the left side but Charles Darrington's put back ended the run.
Robert Garrett flushed down a huge dunk at 6:18 on a nice pass from B. Clark. Brandon responded with a bucket for the Gladiators. Phillip Bach, Kyle Perricone, and Nick Lamson all checked into the game at 3:20. Perricone and Lamson both knocked down threes for the Broncos.
Santa Clara Notes: Santa Clara started a new line-up for the first time this season. In his first career start, Denzel Johnson replaced Kevin Foster in the starting line-up with Niyi Harrison, Raymond Cowels III, John McArthur and Evan Roquemore starting every game this season.
