MALIBU, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball picked up their second-straight victory to open the WCC season, pulling away in the final moments against a scrappy Pepperdine team to win 78-72 inside Firestone Fieldhouse. It is the first 2-0 start to league play for the Broncos in 20 years (2003-04).
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Broncos (11-6, 2-0) shot 43 percent in the opening half and took a slim 33-31 lead into the locker room. Adama-Alpha Bal led the way with nine points while Brenton Knapper tied his career-high of seven rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action.
- Santa Clara maintained no more than a two possession advantage for the first 11 minutes of the second half until Pepperdine took the lead outright on a floater by Malik Moore that was part of a 8-0 Wave run that resulted in a 53-49 lead.
- The lead changed hands seven more times before Johnny O'Neil knocked down a massive 3-pointer to give the Broncos a 69-68 advantage with 3:19 to play. Pepperdine quickly regained the lead, but O'Neil followed suit with yet another triple to knot the score at 72 with just under two minutes on the clock.
- Following a defensive stop, Bal gave SCU the go-ahead score on a tough bucket in the paint to make it 74-72 Broncos with 52.8 seconds to play. The defense responded to make the necessary stops for the remainder of the minute and Santa Clara knocked down all four free throw attempts to close the door on the Waves.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Bal's 28 points was his sixth 20-point game of the season and a new career-high. He was 7-for-13 from the field and a brilliant 12-for-12 at the free throw line.
- Carlos Marshall Jr. finished with 12 points and Brenton Knapper nearly had a double-double with nine points and a new career-high nine rebounds. O'Neil finished with 11 points and five rebounds while Christoph Tilly added eight points and six rebounds.
- This is the first time since 2003-04 that the Broncos have started WCC play 2-0. That season, Santa Clara won their first three games of conference play.
- Santa Clara finished just under 50 percent shooting (25-of-51) and was an efficient 21-for-25 from the free throw line.
- Conversely, Pepperdine (7-10, 0-2) struggled at the charity stripe going just 14-for-24. Michael Ajayi, the leading scorer in the WCC, finished just behind Bal with 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting.
- The Broncos outrebounded Pepperdine 36-33 and committed just one more turnover than the Waves (11-10).
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
NEXT UP:
The Broncos return to the comfort of home for back-to-back games next week. First up will be an ESPN showdown against No. 24 Gonzaga on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6:30 p.m. PT.
