SANTA CLARA, Calif. – For the second straight game, six Broncos reached the double figure scoring threshold as Santa Clara men's basketball held off Utah Tech for a wire-to-wire 90-80 victory inside the Leavey Center and improve to 8-1 on the season. Using just an eight-man rotation due to injuries to usual starters
Christian Hammond and
Jake Ensminger, each player that saw the floor scored six or more points in the winning effort.
The victory was the cherry on top of an unforgettable night as Santa Clara Athletics officially raised NBA Champion Jalen Williams' No. 24 jersey into the rafters of the Leavey Center. The Oklahoma City star was in attendance for a halftime ceremony to celebrate the occasion alongside family and friends.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- The Broncos led by as much as 20 in the second half at 76-56 with less than nine minutes to play before the Trailblazers (5-6) put together two runs of 8-0 and 6-0, respectively, late to cut the deficit to just seven with 1:30 left on clock.
- Allen Graves put the exclamation point on the game with a thunderous dunk on the offensive end to push the lead back to nine at 86-77 with 1:18 remaining.
- After jumping out to an eight-point lead, the Broncos grabbed early control thanks to an 11-0 run that was jump started by back-to-back buckets from Thierry Darlan, making his first collegiate start in place of Hammond, to make it 35-16.
- Utah Tech battled back with a run of their own (10-0) to cut the deficit to 10 at 37-27 with 4:55 remaining in the period before a Sash Gavalyugov 3-pointer, his third of the half, ended the spree. Elijah Mahi knocked home a triple of his own on the ensuing possession to fully swing the momentum back in favor of the Broncos, who took a 13-point lead into the locker room at 48-35.
- A key component to the win was Santa Clara's proficiency at taking the ball away. The Broncos forced a season-high 22 turnovers that resulted in 23 points.
- Santa Clara shot 47 percent from the floor while Utah Tech was slightly better at 49 percent. The teams tied each other on the boards with 36 rebounds apiece.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Bukky Oboye, Gavalyugov and freshman KJ Cochran each scored 14 points to lead the way for the Broncos.
- Oboye also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds to nearly tally a double-double.
- Cochran's 14 points were his second-straight with 10 or more, besting his previous season high of 10.
- Mahi turned in 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals. It was his seventh double figure scoring game of the year and 23rd for his career.
- Graves also pulled down eight boards to go with 13 points, three blocks, four steals and three assists. The redshirt freshman has scored in double figures in five-straight games and six of the last seven.
- Brenton Knapper also flirted with a double-double with 10 points and a career-high eight assists while adding a pair of steals.
- Birthday Boy Francis Chukwudebelu turned in six points as did Darlan.
- Santa Clara knocked down 11-of-37 3-point attempts. The 37 attempts are a season-high and tied for the eighth-most in program history.
- SCU has hit 10 or more treys in five games this season.
- Santa Clara dished out 26 assists – their fifth game with 20 or more on the year.
- The Broncos are 8-1 for the first time since the 2019-20 season.
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
HIGHLIGHTS:
UP NEXT:
The Broncos will be either on the road or on neutral ground for the remainder of their nonconference slate, beginning Saturday, Dec. 6, with a trip to Albuquerque to take on the New Mexico Lobos. Tip is set for 6:00 p.m. PT and will air live on the Mountain West Network.
