SANTA CLARA, Calif. - With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Santa Clara men's basketball is looking to secure their top-four position in the WCC standings, but will have some big tests on the horizon beginning this Thursday with LMU. The Broncos will host the Lions on Thursday evening at 8:00 p.m. PT with CBS Sports Network in town for a nationally-televised broadcast. Jordan Kent, Michael O'Donnell and Darren Collison will have the call for CBS live from the Leavey Center. Fans looking for Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso's call will find it on Sidearm Streaming (link above).
Santa Clara (17-10, 8-4) is riding a two-game win streak with victories over Pacific and at San Diego last week despite starters Adama-Alpha Bal and Brenton Knapper both scratched from the lineup due to injury. Johnny O'Neil, who is averaging 15.8 points and 7.8 rebounds over the last eight games, tallied double-doubles in both victories and has done so in three of the last four games. Jalen Benjamin had a huge night of his own against San Diego, coming off the bench to score 23 points on 5-of-6 shooting with a 3-for-4 mark from 3-point range and 10-of-11 mark at the charity stripe. He also dished out a season-high six assists. Jake Ensminger continued his strong play with 10 rebounds and four assists against the Toreros to make it four-straight games with double figure rebounds and at least four assists.
The Broncos, who have out-rebounded their opponents in 21 of 27 games this season, rank 21st nationally in rebound margin at plus-7.1. They are third in the WCC overall in rebounding with an average of 39.1 per game. Last week, they out-rebounded their opponents a combined 99-57.
LMU, led by head coach Stan Johnson in his fourth season at the helm, are 3-9 in league play and 10-16 overall. They are averaging 72.2 points per game on 44.3 percent shooting and boasts the WCC's top 3-point shooting squad at 36.2 percent. Five Lions are averaging better than 10.0 points per game led by Dominick Harris' 14.0 while Alex Merkviladze is pulling down a team-high 6.6 rebounds in addition to 11.5 ppg.
Santa Clara won the first meeting between the teams this season, 68-57, in Los Angeles in the 2024 conference opener. Bal tallied a game-high 21 points while Carlos Marshall, Jr. chipped in 13 points (including his 1,000th career point) and Knapper and Christoph Tilly tacked on 10 more apiece. The Broncos played outstanding defense, allowing just 29.8 percent shooting and 18.2 percent from beyond the arc (4-for-22).
Santa Clara has won five of the last six over the Lions, including four-straight. They lead the all-time overall series 96-64.
For more information, check the game notes links above.
