SAN DIEGO – Santa Clara graduate guard
Jalen Benjamin had a sensational 23 points on 5-of-6 shooting with six assists and just one turnover to help power Santa Clara men's basketball to a big 82-69 road victory over San Diego on Saturday evening inside Jenny Craig Pavilion.
The win was No. 550 for head coach
Herb Sendek and the 137
th of his Bronco career to tie Dick Garibaldi for the fifth-most in program history.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Santa Clara (17-10, 8-4) jumped out to an 18-3 advantage after rattling off 15 unanswered and led by 17 at 24-7 with 8:38 to go in the first half. San Diego chipped away at the deficit and used an 8-0 run to cut it down five with just over three minutes remaining in the half before Johnny O'Neil closed things out with four-straight free throws to send the Broncos to the locker room with a 32-23 advantage.
- O'Neil scored 10 points in the opening 20 minutes as the Broncos shot 38 percent and tallied a 9-for-10 mark at the charity stripe.
- The Broncos continued to lead comfortably for the majority of the second half until the Toreros used a late 11-0 run to cut the deficit down to seven at 67-60 with 3:51 remaining, however Santa Clara scored nine of the next 11 points to regain the cushion and held on for the 13-point win.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Benjamin's 23 points was a season-high for the grad transfer. He also dished out a season-best six assists and was outstanding at the free throw line with a 10-for-11 mark.
- O'Neil extended his streak of scoring in double figures to eight and tallied his second-straight double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
- O'Neil also had a double-double the first time the teams met in the Leavey Center.
- Jake Ensminger logged his third-straight game of 10 or more rebounds with 10 of the evening to go with six points and four assists.
- Carlos Marshall, Jr. had a great game off the bench with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting
- The Broncos shot 48 percent from the field and knocked down 21-of-25 from the charity stripe while limiting the Toreros to just 39 percent, including a 23 percent mark from 3-point range (5-of-22).
- Santa Clara controlled the boards once again with 42 to San Diego's 29. They also dished out 18 assists against just six from the Toreros.
- Deuce Turner led all scorers with 28 points for San Diego (16-12, 6-7).
POSTGAME COMMENTS
UP NEXT:
The Broncos return home on Thursday, Feb. 22, to take on LMU at 8:00 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network.
