RENO, Nev. – Junior forward Elijah Mahi continued his strong start to his Bronco career on Saturday evening against Nevada, finishing with career-best 22 points at the Lawlor Events Center. Unfortunately, Santa Clara men's basketball was unable to find much other success against one of the nation's toughest defenses, falling to the Wolf Pack 85-59 in SCU's first true road game of the 2024-25 campaign.
 
Nevada, who checked into the game ranked 23^rd nationally in field goal percentage defense, held the Broncos to their lowest scoring total of the season on 40 percent shooting. On the other hand, the Wolf Pack shot lights out both from the field (56 percent) and from 3-point range (47 percent) – a category in which they entered the night as the national leader at 49.1 percent.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Not a whole lot went the Broncos' way in the opening half. SCU was held to 32 percent shooting while Nevada shot the ball at a 63 percent clip.
• Mahi led the Broncos (1-3) with nine points in the opening 20 minutes.
• Santa Clara fared better in the second half, shooting 46.7 percent (14-of-30) for 33 points against 38 for the Wolf Pack.
• Nevada (4-0) was 9-of-19 from beyond the arc and pulled down 37 rebounds to the Broncos' 31.

 NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Mahi has now scored in double figures in all four games to open the season. The Toronto product was 9-of-12 from the field, 3-for-3 at the charity stripe and knocked down his lone 3-point attempt.
• Brenton Knapper earned his first start of the season (17^th career).
• Kosy Akametu made his season debut after missing the Broncos' first three games, finishing with seven points in 19 minutes of work.
• Bukky Oboye played the most minutes of his young career (10) and tallied a career-best four points to go with a pair of blocks.
• Luke McEldon also made his season debut.
• Johnny O'Neil led the team with six rebounds.

POSTGAME COMMENTS:
 
 UP NEXT:
The Broncos return home to Leavey Center for two games next week. SCU will host UC Riverside on Tuesday, Nov. 19, and Stanford Saturday, Nov. 23. Both games will tip at 7:00 p.m. PT.