STOCKTON, Calif. — The fifth-seeded and No. 17-ranked Santa Clara University men's water polo team made a late charge Friday in the opening round of the 2024 West Coast Conference Tournament, but came up just short against No. 4 seed and No. 16-ranked California Baptist, as its season came to an end with a 12-11 defeat at Pacific's Chris Kjeldsen Pool at the Douglass M. Eberhardt Aquatics Center.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Santa Clara (13-11) had a last-second chance to tie the game at 12-12 and send it into overtime, but California Baptist (21-12) came up clutch on the defensive end. Reese Jenican was fed the ball down low, and he turned to fire a shot, but CBU goalkeeper William Whitstone was there with the win-saving block as time expired.
   
• Santa Clara's second-half comeback push was made possible by its own strong defensive effort. After allowing California Baptist to score 10 goals in the first two periods, the Broncos' defense locked down and only allowed one goal in each of the third and fourth periods.
   
• The Broncos came out with renewed energy in the second half, scoring three goals in the third quarter to narrow the gap to 11-7. Riccardo De Simon scored three goals in the second half alone to power the Broncos' comeback push.
   
• Santa Clara scored the first goal of the game to take a 1-0 lead early in the first period, but California Baptist answered with three unanswered goals to take a 3-1 lead and never trailed again. The Lancers locked down on defense the rest of the period and would outscore the Broncos, 5-2, in the opening frame. Toring Stanley was instrumental for CBU, netting two goals in the opening period.
   
• Santa Clara fought back in the second quarter, scoring three goals, including one from De Simon and another from Luke Baird. But the Lancers kept up their offensive intensity, matching Santa Clara's efforts with five goals of their own, including a critical goal from Andrea Nuzzo just before the period ended to lead 10-5 at halftime.
   
• De Simon led Santa Clara with four goals. Baird and Zach Fales had two goals each. Henry Engs, Jenican and Grant Roesch each scored one. Stanley and Bodhi Bowden led California Baptist with three goals apiece. Harrison Labrosse made 12 saves for Santa Clara, while Whitstone made 16 for the Lancers.

NOTABLE NUMBERS

• 2: The Broncos had multiple conference wins for at least the 13th consecutive full season (since 2011). They've gone 2-4 in each of the WCC's first two seasons sponsoring the sport.
• 13: Santa Clara topped its win total from each of the past two seasons with 13 in 2024, equalling its win total from 2021.