SANTA CLARA, Calif.- After a big road victory over McNeese State, Santa Clara men’s basketball returns to the Leavey Center this Saturday for a matchup with Fresno State (3-5). The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso on the call. The link can be found above.
The Broncos are coming off their first true road win of the season as they snapped McNeese’s 20-game home winning streak. Tyeree Bryan led the charge with a season-high 17 points off the bench while securing a late game clinching block and a 3-pointer on the other end. Carlos Stewart Jr. had his fourth straight game of the season in double figures with 13, and Christoph Tilly added 13, his sixth game of the year scoring in double digits. Elijah Mahi added a career high 10 rebounds, and nine points, one shy of his first career double-double. The Broncos dominated the second half, outscoring the Cowboys 46-36 and shot a season-high 18-of-19 (94.7%) from the charity stripe for the game.
The Broncos have three players in the top 25 in the WCC in scoring as Mahi leads the way with 12.7 ppg (18th in WCC), Adama-Alpha Bal with 11.9 ppg (21st in WCC), and Christoph Tilly with 11.4 ppg (25th in WCC). The Broncos rank second in the league and 82nd nationally with 12.67 offensive rebounds per game, and second in the WCC and 89th nationally with 27.33 bench points per game. They also rank third in the league and 54th nationally, shooting a 75.8 percent mark from the free throw line, and second in the WCC with an average of 8.4 three-pointers per game. Mahi leads the Broncos in shooting percentage shooting 51.1 percent from the field, which ranks fifth in the league.
Fresno State, under the direction of first-year head coach Vance Walberg, is 3-5 on the season and looking to break a three-game losing skid after going 0-2 at the Acrisure Holiday Invitational with losses to Washington State (84-73) and Cal Baptist (86-81) and falling to No. 24 San Diego State, 84-62, on Wednesday in Fresno. The Bulldogs are averaging 73.5 ppg while allowing 78.5 defensively. Amar Augillard and Aaon Collins lead the team in scoring at 16.0 and 14.2 ppg, respectively, while big man Elijah Prince is among the top rebounders in the nation with 9.1 per outing (28th in NCAA D1).
Santa Clara and Fresno State last met on Nov. 24, 2021 at the SoCal Classic in San Juan Capistrano where Fresno State handed SCU their first loss of the season in a low-scoring defensive affair (59-52). Both teams shot under 40 percent, but the Bulldogs fared better at the free throw, which proved to be the difference-maker. Fresno State scored 17 of their 32 second-half points at the charity stripe to pull ahead late. Keshawn Justice and PJ Pipes led the way for the Broncos with 12 points apiece.
Saturday’s game will be the 32nd meeting all-time between the Broncos and Bulldogs. Santa Clara has won two of the last three meetings, both inside the Leavey Center, and lead the series 20-11 with an 8-2 mark at home.
For more information, click on the game notes link above.
STREAMING INFO
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+, and can be accessed here.
Broncos At A Glance…
Free Throw Frenzy:
The Broncos shot a season high 18-19 (94.7%) from the free throw line against McNeese State, their highest percentage this season and most since hitting 21 shots from the charity stripe against Stanford.
Balanced Scoring:
The Broncos have four players currently averaging in double figures: Mahi with 12.7 ppg (18th in WCC), Adama-Alpha Bal with 11.9 ppg (21st in WCC), Christoph Tilly with 11.4 ppg (25th in WCC), and Stewart with 10.7 ppg (33rd in WCC).
On the Boards:
The Broncos rank second in the conference and 82nd nationally with 12.67 offensive rebounds per game, and fourth in the WCC and 89th nationally with 39.0 total rebounds per game.
Stewart Put On a Show:
Carlos Stewart Jr. had an MVP-type performance at the Acrisure Invitational. The Baton Rouge native started the tournament with a then-season high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting against TCU. He then turned in a new season high with 20 points to go with five rebounds and three steals against Washington. Stewart averaged 19.0 ppg on 63.6 percent shooting with 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game over the two-game tournament. He most recently added 13 points at McNeese State and has now scored in double figures in four-straight games and has six such games on the season.
O’Neil Stepping Up:
Senior Johnny O’Neil hasn’t had quite the start offensively that he was hoping for, but the big man from Miami Shores has been a force on defense. He currently leads the team in rebounding with 5.7 per game and is responsible for SCU’s only double-double (10 pts/14 reb vs. North Dakota State).
No Off Days:
Santa Clara’s non-conference strength of schedule is currently ranked 44th nationally out of 364 teams. They have the third-toughest non-conference schedule among WCC teams behind Gonzaga (8th) and San Francisco (38th).
Mahi Making Moves:
Junior forward Elijah Mahi has started his SCU career with a bang, scoring in double figures in six of the first eight games to open the season. The Toronto product had career high 22 points at Nevada and most recently tallied 13 points vs. TCU, 19 points against Washington, and nine points and a career high 10 rebounds at McNeese State. He leads the Broncos shooting 51.1 percent from the field which ranks fifth in the league.
Sustained success:
The Broncos have won 20 or more games in three consecutive seasons and four if you exclude the 2020-21 covid season.
Bal Back:
After flirting with the NBA Draft, Adama-Alpha Bal decided to return to the Broncos for one last season. The Le Mans, France, product is poised to once again be among the top players in the WCC in 2024-25 after an outstanding showing last year. Bal was a First Team All-WCC and Second Team NABC All-Dis-trict selection after averaging 14.4 ppg (7th best in WCC) in a team-high 31.2 minutes of work. He also ranked ninth in the league with 3.1 assists per game and led the Broncos with nine 20-point games.
Familiar Faces:
In addition to Bal, who was a First Team All-WCC selection last year, the Broncos brought back six other key rotation pieces. Among them, All-WCC Honorable Mention last season Christoph Tilly, and All-WCC Freshman Team selection sophomore forward Jake Ensminger. In addition, the Broncos return senior forward Johnny O’Neil, senior guard Tyeree Bryan, junior guard Brenton Knapper, and senior forward Camaron Tongue, all key rotation pieces for the Broncos last season. The Broncos returned four of their five starters and 72.8 percent of their scoring from 2023-24.
Added Experience:
The Broncos also bring back senior guard and former Bronco standout Carlos Stewart Jr. As a sophomore at Santa Clara, Stewart Jr. was a First Team All-WCC selection, avg.15.2 ppg. The Broncos also added West Valley College transfer Elijah Mahi, who joins the Broncos after leading West Valley College to an undefeated 33-0 season in 2023-24, capturing the state championship title, and being named California Player of the Year and winning MVP in the state tournament.
Bayou Boys:
Santa Clara has not one, but two Gatorade Louisiana Basketball Player of Year winners on the roster - Stewart (2020-21) and freshman Allen Graves (2023-24).
Preseason Poll:
The Broncos were picked to finish third in the WCC preseason poll, while Bal and Stewart Jr. were named to the Preseason First Team All-WCC.
Career Marks:
Carlos Stewart Jr. tied a career high 5 assists in the season opener against Saint Louis, while Camaron Tongue scored a career high 18 pts. Christoph Tilly made a career high two three pointers in the victory, and Elijah Mahi scored a career high 22 pts against Nevada. Johnny O’Neil posted a career high 14 rebounds against North Dakota State. Most recently, Jake Ensiminger tied a career high 11 rebounds vs. TCU, and Tyeree Bryan had a career high three steals against the Horned Frogs. Most recently, Mahi had a career high 10 rebounds at McNeese State.
Pipeline to the Pros:
There are just five NCAA D1 men’s basketball programs that produced top-20 picks in the 2022 and 2023 NBA Drafts: Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Baylor.....and Santa Clara.
The Broncos have produced back-to-back first round selections in the form of Jalen Williams (12th overall to Oklahoma City in 2022) and Brandin Podziemski (19th overall to Golden State in 2023). Additionally, former Bronco forward Keshawn Justice was signed by the Utah Jazz in October 2023 and is currently a member of the Salt Lake Jazz.
After becoming the first Bronco to hear his name called in the NBA Draft since Steve Nash in 1996, Williams more than lived up to his lottery pick hype, finishing runner-up in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors and was named to the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge. He was even better in year two, averaging 19.1 ppg while starting 71 games and was once again voted to the Rising Stars Challenge.
Podziemski was the first WCC player taken off the board in 2023 and also turned in a fantastic rookie season, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors and being named to the Rising Stars Challenge. Podz became the first Golden State rookie since Stephen Curry (2009-10) to tally 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five or more in a single game, doing so on Dec. 12 against the Phoenix Suns.
Both Williams and Podziemski were also named to the USA Select Team in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
