SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Despite their most efficient shooting night of the season, Santa Clara men's basketball came up just short on Wednesday night against Utah State as the Aggies pulled ahead late to win 84-82 inside the Leavey Center.
The Broncos (7-4) shot 57.1 percent from the field and held the sharp-shooting Aggies to just 37.3 percent on the other end, but too many turnovers (19) and points off turnovers (21) proved to be the difference down the stretch in a game that changed leads 14 times.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Santa Clara jumped out to a quick 12-6 lead and led by eight with 3:23 remaining in the first half following a Camaron Tongue jumper. Utah State (10-1) erased the deficit and grabbed the lead outright with just under a minute left on a 3-point bucket, but Johnny O'Neil responded with a trey of his own with 33 seconds left to even the score at 43-43 entering the locker room.
- O'Neil knocked down three triples in the opening half and led the Broncos with 11 points in the opening 20 minutes.
- The second half saw both teams exchange blows with 10 lead changes overall. Neither team led by more than four points until the 1:41 mark when Ian Martinez drained a 3-pointer to put the Aggies on top 78-73.
- After the teams exchanged buckets on the next two possessions, Tyeree Bryan knocked down a huge triple of his own to cut it back to a two-point game at 80-78 with just 47 seconds remaining.
- Utah State drew a foul on the next possession and drained both freebies to keep it a two-score affair. Adama-Alpha Bal scored on a fastbreak dunk to make things interesting, but the Aggies answered by knocking down both of their foul shots in the must-foul situation.
- Carlos Marshall, Jr., gave the Broncos one last hope as he hit a long jumper to cut it back to 84-82 with just three seconds to play, but the Aggies successfully inbounded the ball to escape with the victory.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- The Broncos had five players score in double figures for the third time this season. Bal led the way with 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Marshall, Jr. chipped in 16 points, O'Neil tallied 15 points, while Tongue and Bryan each finished with 11 points off the bench.
- O'Neil led the Broncos in rebounding with seven boards and also tallied a season-best three steals.
- The duo of Martinez (28) and Darius Brown II (23) accounted for the bulk of Utah State's points.
- The Broncos were outrebounded for the third time this season (39-34).
- Santa Clara drops to 3-8 all-time against Utah State.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW:
NEXT UP
- Santa Clara heads to Phoenix on Saturday, Dec. 16, to take on Washington State (8-1) in the Jerry Colangelo Classic. The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.
