SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men's basketball is off to a 3-0 start and is hoping to ride the momentum from Monday night's 87-68 road win at Xavier as they get set to host three-straight games inside the Leavey Center. The first of the bunch will come against the undefeated Nevada Wolf Pack (3-0), who returns to the Leavey Center on Saturday for the backend of a home-and-home series that began last season in Reno. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso on the call, and is set for a 4:00 p.m. PT tip.
THE OPPONENT
Nevada enters the contest undefeated at 3-0 with wins over Louisiana Tech (77-50), Pacific (78-77) and Southern Illinois (86-81 in OT). This will be the Wolf Pack’s first game away from home this season. Led by Steve Alford in his seventh-year at the helm, Nevada is averaging just over 80 points per game and has excelled at rebounding the ball at 48.7 boards per game. Evansville transfer Tayshawn Comer leads the team in scoring at 17.3 ppg while Fresno State transfer Elijah Price is averaging a double-double of 12 points and 12.3 rebounds.
SERIES HISTORY
Saturday’s showdown will be the 66th meeting all-time betwen the Broncos and Wolf Pack with Santa Clara holding a 35-30 advantage. Nevada won the front-end of the home-and-home last season, 85-59, in Reno, and has won six of the last seven. The last time the teams faced off in the Leavey Center was Nov. 16, 2021 when the Broncos blew past the Wolf Pack with a 96-74 victory. Parker Braun, Jalen Williams and Keshawn Justice scored 19, 18 and 18 points, respectively, in the win.
LAST TIME OUT
Santa Clara put together their best shooting and defensive effort of the young season in a blowout victory on the road against Xavier. The Broncos shot 54.7 percent while holding the Musketeers to just 33.9 percent, including just 5-of-19 from 3-point range, as they built a 19-point halftime lead and led by as much as 30 in the second half before settling for an 87-68 victory. Five Broncos scored in double figures with Elijah Mahi leading the charge with 18 points. Christian Hammond scored a career-best 15, while Brenton Knapper, Sash Gavalyugov and Allen Graves each finished with 10. Graves also pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The 19-point margin of victory is Santa Clara’s largest in a road nonconference game since defeating San Jose State by 22 on Dec. 21, 2021.
MAHI OFF TO A BIG START
Through three games, preseason All-WCC pick Elijah Mahi has lived up to the billing. The Toronto native is averaging 17.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. Has has led or tied for the lead in scoring in all three games, and most recently scored 18 points in SCU’s road victory over Xavier. At 17.0 ppg, he ranks eighth in scoring in the WCC.
BLOCK PARTY
Santa Clara tallied 11 blocks in the win at Xavier, which is tied for the third-most in program history and tied for the most in a road game. It was their highest total since tallying 13 in 2005 against UC Riverside. The Broncos are averaging 7.0 blocks per game through three games, which leads the WCC and ranks 16th in NCAA D1.
CLEANING UP THE BOARDS
It’s a small sample size, but through three games, Santa Clara is one of the top rebounding teams in the WCC, ranking second in the conference in both total rebounds (45.33) and offensive rebounds (17.0). Those numbers rank 38th and 21st, nationally.
HAMMOND MAKING NOISE
After redshirting the 2024-25 season, sophomore Christian Hammond has emerged as one of Santa Clara’s top playmakers through three games. The Denver native ranks second in scoring (13.3) and third in rebounding (6.7). He also leads the WCC in steals with 2.33 per game. Hammond has scored 12 or more in all three games this season and is coming off a career-best 15 points at Xavier.
MR EFFICIENCY
One of the vocal leaders on the Broncos’ roster, redshirt junior Jake Ensminger has a done a little bit of everything in his first three games. The Ulm, Germany, product leads the team (10th in WCC) with 4.0 assists per game while averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per outing. Ensminger currently carries a 12-to-1 assist/turnover ratio, which ranks third nationally in NCAA D1.
GRAVES MAKING THE MOST OF HIS OPPORTUNITY
Redshirt freshman Allen Graves made a splash in his first three collegiate games. The Louisiana native came off the bench in the opener vs. Humboldt to score seven points and grabbed four rebounds. He was thrown into the starting lineup against McNeese in place of injured Bukky Oboye and absolutely rose to the occassion by pulling down 13 rebounds (seven offensive). In his most recent outing, and first-ever in a road environment, Graves came up big yet again, pulling down 11 rebounds to go with 10 points against Xavier. It is the first double-double of his young career.
GAVALYUGOV A SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Villanova transfer Sash Gavalyugov was a major catalyst for the Santa Clara offense after a sluggish start against McNeese. The Bulgaria native came off the bench to score seven unanswered points to give SCU their first lead of the night and later knocked down a deep trey before the halftime buzzer to send the Broncos to locker room with a four-point advantage. Gavalyugov finished the game 5-of-8 from 3-point range for a career-high 19 points.
Through three games, Gavalyugov is the team’s third-leading scorer at 12.3 ppg after pouring in 10 points off the bench at Xavier.
DEFENSE FLEXING EARLY
Santa Clara has played sound defense through the first three games, so much so that they currently boast the WCC’s third-best field goal percentage (36.7) and fourth-best scoring defense (62.7). They are coming off their best defensive effort of the year at Xavier where they held the Musketeers to just 33.9 percent shooting on 19 made field goals. The Broncos have also locked down around the perimeter, allowing teams to shoot just 26.2 percent from beyond the arc, which ranks second in the WCC.
