SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball picked up their third, and biggest, win of the young season on Tuesday evening behind a big second half that powered the Broncos to an 89-77 victory over Stanford at Maples Pavilion. It was the Broncos' second-straight victory over the Cardinal and first win at Stanford since 2006.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Four Broncos scored in double figures led by a career-best outing from Adama-Alpha Bal, who scored 23 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Sixteen of those points came in the second half.
- Santa Clara (3-0) found themselves in a big hole early as Stanford (2-1) shot lights out to open the contest and built a 12-point advantage in time for the under-12 timeout. The Broncos punched back with a 15-2 run to grab the lead outright at 31-30 with 7:10 to go in the half. Johnny O'Neil knocked down two treys during the big sequence, including the go-ahead bucket.
- After some back-and-forth, the Cardinal mounted a seven-point advantage inside the final two minutes, but Santa Clara closed on a 5-0 run to make it a two-point game at the halftime break (46-44).
- The back-and-forth continued well into the second half with the Broncos mounting a five-point advantage following consecutive 3-pointers from Bal and Jalen Benjamin to make it 62-57 with 11:20 to go. Stanford erased the deficit three minutes later to tie the game at 65.
- Santa Clara grabbed the lead for good with 6:27 to play after a tough layup by Christoph Tilly and a 3-pointer from Carlos Marshall, Jr. Stanford made it a four-point game with just over two minutes remaining, but that was as close as they would get as the Broncos closed the game on a 10-2 run to pick up the victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- The win was Santa Clara's first inside Maples Pavilion since Dec. 16, 2006 (62-46).
- It was also their first road win against a Pac-12 opponent since taking down Washington State in Pullman, 79-71, on Dec. 29, 2018.
- Santa Clara is now 4-3 against the Cardinal in their last seven meetings.
- Santa Clara is 7-9 against Pac-12 opponents under Herb Sendek, and have won three out of their last four chances.
- Marshall Jr. scored 20 points (4-6 3FG) with six rebounds to make it three-straight 20-point games to open the season.
- O'Neil nearly had a double-double with a season-high 17 points to go with eight rebounds and three assists.
- Tyeree Bryan also reached double figures with 11 points and had four rebounds. Benjamin and Christoph Tilly finished with eight points apiece.
- The Broncos shot 45.8 percent for the game and outscored Stanford 45-31 in the second half.
- Santa Clara out-rebounded the Cardinal, 42-33, with 12 offensive boards that led to 17 second-chance points.
- The Broncos were perfect at the free throw line (10-for-10) and hit a season-high 13 3-pointers (13-for-28).
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:
NEXT UP:
The Broncos return to the Leavey Center for two games in three days beginning Saturday, Nov. 18, against Southeastern Louisiana.
