BERKELEY, Calif. –With leading scorer
Carlos Marshall, Jr. on the bench with an undisclosed injury, Santa Clara men's basketball suffered their second loss of the season, falling 84-69 against the Cal Bears at Haas Pavilion. The Broncos dropped to 7-2 overall and 2-1 against the Pac-12 Conference on the year.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Broncos struggled to contain the trio of Jalen Cone (15), Jaylon Taylor (11) and Fardaw Aimaq (11), who combined for 37 of Cal's 45 first half points.
- On the opposite end, Santa Clara struggled to find much success offensively, shooting just 32.4 percent (12-37) from the field and 5-for-15 from beyond the perimeter (33.3).
- The Broncos used a 9-3 run to cut into the deficit and make it a nine-point game at 32-23 with 4:39 left in the half, but Cal outscored SCU 13-7 for the remainder of the half to take a 45-31 lead into the locker room.
- Santa Clara shot better in the second half and worked the deficit to as little as six at 65-59 with 7:37 to play following a 7-0 run. Unfortunately, the Broncos then went uncharacteristically cold and Cal took full advantage, scoring the next 10 points to regain control for good.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Adama-Alpha Bal continued his strong play against Pac-12 opponents with a team-high 22 points and career-best seven rebounds.
- Johnny O'Neil shook off the rust to have his second-highest scoring total of the season with 15 points. He added eight rebounds to tie for the team lead with Francisco Caffaro.
- With Marshall Jr. out, Tyeree Bryan found himself in the starting lineup for the first time, joining Bal, Benjamin, O'Neil and Tilly. Bryan finished 13 points, tying his season-high.
- Cal forced 10 Bronco turnovers in which they turned into 17 points.
- Santa Clara is 2-1 against the Pac-12 with a Dec. 16 showdown against Washington State looming.
- Cone's first half shooting prowess carried over into the second half as he finished with a game-high 26 points, including a 7-for-10 mark from 3-point range.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:
NEXT UP:
The Broncos head to Henderson, Nev. for a neutral site showdown against New Mexico (6-1) at the Jack Jones Classic on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 2:00 p.m. PT.
