SAN JOSE, Calif. - Carlos Marshall Jr. had the best night of his collegiate career on Wednesday evening as he tied the school record with nine 3-point buckets as part of a career-best 29-point outing. Despite the big individual performance, Santa Clara men's basketball was unable to pick up the victory over their crosstown rivals San Jose State, falling 81-79 inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After a tightly-fought opening half that saw San Jose State (7-6) holding a three-point advantage at 42-39, the Spartans scored the first eight points of the second half to take an 11-point lead at 50-39.
- Santa Clara (8-5) was unfazed and used a 15-5 run to cut it back to just one point affair at 55-54 with 11:02 to play.
- After the Spartans mounted a six-point lead on a conventional 3 and dunk in transition, the Broncos grabbed the lead outright after Marshall Jr. knocked down his eighth and ninth triples of the game to bookend an 8-0 run to make it 62-60 with 7:34 left.
- San Jose State quickly reclaimed the lead and pushed it to as much as seven, but the Broncos used one last run - this time an 8-2 spree - to tie the game on a Johnny O'Neil 3-pointer with 1:00 to play.
- Following a couple of Spartan free throws, the Broncos nearly regained the lead as Marshall Jr. attempted to knock down a late trey with 16 seconds on the clock, however the shot rimmed out. Following another SJSU free throw, Adama-Alpha Bal made it a one-point game on the next offensive possession, scoring on a layup with just five seconds to go.
- San Jose State knocked down both free throws after drawing the must-foul to push it back to a three-point lead, giving the Broncos one final chance to tie with three seconds to play. Bal was tasked with the final shot at the buzzer in the form of a deep trey that hit the front iron but didn't fall the Broncos' way.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Marshall Jr. scored seven of his nine treys in the opening half. The nine triples are tied for the most in program history (Kevin Foster vs. Air Force, March 18, 2011.
- Santa Clara shot 50 percent for the fifth time this season.
- Marshall Jr.'s 29 points are the most scored by any Bronco this season. He also tallied six assists and five rebounds.
- Bal finished with 14 points and five assists while Camaron Tongue had yet another strong performance off of the bench with 11 points.
- San Jose State also shot 50 percent and had five players score in double figures. Alvaro Cardenas finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 assists.
POSTGAME INTERVIEW:
NEXT UP:
Santa Clara heads to Las Vegas to play Duquesne at Orleans Arena on Saturday, Dec. 23. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m. PT.
