SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball (14-7, 6-2) cruised to a dominant 93-65 victory over Washington State (15-6, 5-3) at the Leavey Center in a West Coast Conference matchup Thursday night. The Broncos ended the game on a 25-5 run, led by five players scoring in double figures for the fifth time this season. The win marked the second largest this season for the Broncos as Johnny O'Neil led the way with 17 points, putting down a season high five threes, and Christoph Tilly had his first career double-double adding 13 points and 10 boards. The win was Santa Clara's seventh-straight inside the Leavey Center and the 11th win overall over the last 13 games.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Broncos went over four minutes without a bucket as Washington State hit three of their first four from beyond the arc to build an 11-7 lead at the first media timeout. However, the Broncos answered back, going on a 10-0 run of their own, holding the Cougars without a bucket for over five minutes to take a five point lead.
• An 11-2 run from Washington State put them back up three, but back-to-back treys from Johnny O'Neil capped a 12-0 Broncos run as they jumped back up by nine.
• The Broncos stifling defense forced a shot clock violation on the final defensive play of the first half, the 11th forced turnover of the game for Santa Clara. On the ensuing possession, Adama-Alpha Bal hit a buzzer-beating three to put the Broncos up 11 at the break.
• Both teams traded blows to open the second half until O'Neil tied his season high fourth three pointer to put the Broncos up 10. The Broncos kept the momentum going as O'Neil nailed another trey, capping a 12-4 run to put Santa Clara ahead 68-53 with 11 minutes left, their largest lead of the night to that point.
• A jumper by Ethan Price, who finished with 16 points, capped a 7-0 Washington State run, forcing a Broncos timeout. But a thunderous putback dunk from Christoph Tilly and a layup from Bal, capped a 10-0 Broncos run, ballooning the lead to 18. A three by Elijah Mahi capped a 25-5 Broncos run to end the game as Santa Clara got their second largest home win of the season, 93-65.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Johnny O'Neil had a season high five threes, leading the Broncos with 17 points, his second highest point total this year.
• Christoph Tilly had his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 boards.
• The Broncos had five players score in double figures for the fifth time this season.`
• This is the second largest win this season for the Broncos this season (11/19 vs. UC Riverside)
• The Broncos win marks their fourth in the last five matches over the Cougars.

POSTGAME COMMENTS: 

postgame ???

hear from Coach Sendek and Johnny O'neil on tonight's win over WSU??#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/lzA6j3ZnJ1

— Santa Clara Men's Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 24, 2025

UP NEXT: The Broncos travel to Corvallis, Oreg. for a matchup with Oregon State on Saturday at 3 p.m. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, or you can catch the audio only call on Sidearm Streaming here.