SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Santa Clara men’s basketball (17-10, 9-5) returns home to Leavey Center for a primetime matchup with LMU (15-12, 7-8) on ESPN2, before traveling to Washington State Saturday at 3 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The LMU game is slated for an 8 p.m. tip. Dave Feldman and Richie Schueler will have the call for ESPN, while fans can tune in to the audio only call from Anthony Passarelli and Henry Caruso live on Sidearm Streaming. Both links can be accessed above.
Last time out, playing without their two leading scorers (Bal & Tilly), Santa Clara gave Saint Mary’s all they could handle in Moraga. The Broncos tied the game at 58 with under six minutes to play, but the Gaels used a 9-0 run to grab control late. Johnny O’Neil logged a team-best 18 points while Jake Ensminger had his best offensive outing of the year with 13 points and a career-best three treys. The Broncos knocked down nine 3-pointers as the team, the most a WCC team has hit against the Gaels this season.
The Broncos come into the matchup with the Lions as one of four teams in the WCC to have four or more players averaging double figures in scoring (Gonzaga, Washington State, LMU). Bal leads the way with 13.7 ppg (14th in WCC). Junior center Christoph Tilly is second on the team with 12.9 ppg (17th in WCC), Stewart Jr. is third with 11.9 ppg (23rd in WCC), and Elijah Mahi rounds out the pack with 11.2 ppg (27th in WCC). The Broncos also excel in bench production, ranking third in the WCC (and 35th nationally) with 28.07 bench points per game. They also rank second in the WCC (and 24th nationally) with 16.8 assists per game.
Santa Clara has proven to be among the top rebounding teams in the league, ranking third in the WCC with 37.70 total rebounds per outing (69th nationally). Sophomore forward Jake Ensminger and Johnny O’Neil lead the way with 5.4 rebounds per game each, good for a tie for 18th in the WCC.
Santa Clara leads the WCC and is 19th nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.1). They have hit 10 or more treys in 17 games and are 14-3 when doing so. The Broncos also lead the WCC in 3-pointers per game in league play with 10.9 per outing. Adama-Alpha Bal (2.4) and Carlos Stewart Jr. (1.9) rank second and ninth, respectively individually in the league in 3s per game while Tyeree Bryan (1.7) and Johnny O’Neil (1.5) also rank inside the top 21.
Santa Clara ranks second in the WCC with 80.3 points per game behind Gonzaga (88.0). That mark ranks 45th nationally in NCAA D1. The Broncos have fared even better in league play with an average of 81.1 ppg, also second behind Gonzaga’s 88.7 ppg average.
LMU enters Thursday’s tilt sixth in the WCC standings at 7-8 and are 15-12 overall in Stan Johnson’s fifth season at the helm. The Lions are averaging 70.1 ppg while holding opponents to 70.6 ppg defensively (5th best in WCC). Four Lions are averaging north of 10 ppg led by Caleb Stone-Carrawell’s 13.8. Alex Merkviladze leads the conference with 5.9 defensive rebounds per game.
Santa Clara’s five-game win streak against the Lions was halted when the teams first met in January, but the Broncos hold a 97-65 overall lead in the all-time series. Santa Clara is 34-19 all-time against the Lions at home and have won the last three meetings inside the Leavey Center.
For more information, click on the game notes link above.
STREAMING INFO
The game against the Lions will be streamed on ESPN2 and can be listened to on Sidearm Streaming here.
Broncos At A Glance…
WCC Players of the Week:
Two Broncos have earned WCC Player of the Week honors this season.
Tyeree Bryan’s sensational 35-point performance against the Bulldogs earned him WCC Co-Player of the Week honors - the first weekly award of the season for a Bronco and the first since Carlos Marshall, Jr. earned POTW honors following the opening week of play in 2023-24. He was also named one of the five honorees for the Oscar Robertson National Players of the Week Award. He is the first Bronco to ever be honored since the award’s inception in 2009-10.
Elijah Mahi became the second Bronco to win the award for the week of Feb. 10 after an outstanding two-game stand against Portland and San Diego where he averaged 19.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 blocks. The Toronto native tallied the first double-double of his career at Portland with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and then followed up with a career-high 28 points and seven assists to go with six rebounds against San Diego. Mahi shot 66.7 percent from the field and 80 percent from 3-point range over the two games.
On Pace for History:
Santa Clara is on pace to break the current school record of 3-point field goals of 318 set in 2016-17 (Herb Sendek’s first season). The Broncos currently have 277 with at least five games remaining.
1. 318 2016-17
2. 303 2012-13
3. 277 2024-25
4. 275 2022-23
5. 273 2010-11
Shooting Above 50 Percent:
Santa Clara has shot 50 percent or better in 11 games this season and are 9-2 in such games.
UC Riverside: 58.3%- W
Kennesaw State: 50.0%- W
South Dakota: 52.7%- W
Pepperdine: 50.7%- W
at USF: 50.8%- L
USF: 51.7- W
at Gonzaga: 53.7%- W
at Oregon State: 51.0%- L
Pacific: 55.4%- W
at Portland: 51.5%- W
San Diego: 58.2%- W
High Scoring Broncos:
Santa Clara ranks second in the WCC with 80.3 points per game behind Gonzaga (88.0). That mark ranks 45th nationally in NCAA D1.
The Broncos have fared even better in league play with an average of 81.1 ppg, also second behind Gonzaga’s 88.7 ppg average.
Scoring At A Historic Rate:
Santa Clara has tallied seven games in which they have scored 90 points or more. That is already tied for the third most in program history.
No. of games with 90+ points:
10 - 1969-70
9- 2024-25
8 - 1966-67, 1967-68, 1978-79
7 - 1972-73, 1979-80
In the Net:
The Broncos rank 55th in the latest NET Rankings - one of five WCC programs that rank inside the top 80: Gonzaga (10), Saint Mary’s (20), SCU (55), USF (60) and Oregon State (77).
Three-Point Shooting:
Santa Clara leads the WCC and is 19th nationally in 3-pointers per game (10.3). The Broncos also lead the WCC in 3-pointers per game in league play with 10.9 per outing. Adama-Alpha Bal (2.4) and Carlos Stewart Jr. (1.9) rank second and ninth, respectively individually in the league in 3s per game while Tyeree Bryan (1.7) and Johnny O’Neil (1.5) also rank inside the top 21
The Broncos have hit 10 or more treys in 17 games - the most in program history - and are 14-3
when doing so. SCU has also set the program record with three games of 15 or more with 15 against Pepperdine, 16 at Portland, and a season-high 18 on the road against Gonzaga.
3-Point Defense:
Not only do the Broncos fare well offensively from beyond the arc, they have also played sound defense around the perimeter, especially in conference play. Santa Clara ranks second in the WCC in 3-point defense, allowing league opponents to shoot just 29.0 percent. The Broncos have held five opponents under 25 percent from beyond the arc.
at San Diego 5-22 .227
Oregon State 6-25 .240
USF 6-32 .188
at LMU 3-18 .167
at Portland 7-32 .219
Balanced Scoring:
Santa Clara currently has four players in double figures. Bal leads the way with 13.7 ppg (14th in WCC). Junior center Christoph Tilly is second on the team with 12.9 ppg (17th in WCC), Stewart Jr. is third with 11.9 ppg (23rd in WCC), and Elijah Mahi rounds out the pack with 11.2 ppg (27th in WCC).
Defensive Clinic:
Santa Clara held Pacific to just 49 points on a season-low 19 field goals. That is the fewest points SCU has allowed since holding Mississippi Valley State to just 39 points on Nov. 20, 2023. It was the fewest they have allowed against a WCC opponent since Jan. 4, 2018 (49 at LMU).
Spreading the Love:
Santa Clara has had a different leading scorer in each of the last eight games.
1/18 at Gonzaga Bryan (35) 2/1 Pacific Tilly (19)
1/23 Washington State O’Neil (17) 2/6 at Portland Tongue (19)
1/25 at Oregon State Bal (13) 2/8 San Diego Mahi (28)
1/29 Saint Mary’s Stewart (24) 2/11 at Saint Mary’s O’Neil (18)
On the Boards:
The Broncos rank third in the WCC with 37.70 total rebounds per outing (69th nationally). Sophomore forward Jake Ensminger and Johnny O’Neil lead the way with 5.4 rebounds per game each, good for a tie for 18th in the WCC. Santa Clara has won the rebound battle in 18 of their 26 games, and are 15-3 when doing so.
On the Hunt For 10:
Santa Clara is one win shy of making it four-straight years in which they have won 10 or more games in conference play. That streak would be the longest in program history.
Los Joins 1000 Point Club:
After scoring 10 points at Oregon State on Jan. 25, Carlos Stewart Jr. joined the 1000th point club, becoming just the second current Bronco to achieve that feat (Johnny O’Neil).
No Off Days:
Santa Clara’s non-conference strength of schedule is currently ranked 44th nationally out of 364 teams. They have the third-toughest non-conference schedule among WCC teams behind Gonzaga (8th) and San Francisco (38th).
Rising up in the Ranks:
Head Coach Herb Sendek got his 570th win of his career Saturday, Feb. 8 vs. San Diego, putting him in a tie for 53rd in the NCAA D1 All Time Wins-Leaders with Steve Fisher.
Bench Production:
Santa Clara is averaging 28.1points from their bench players, which ranks third in the WCC and 35th nationally.
Dishing it Out:
Santa Clara ranks 24th nationally and second in the WCC in assists with an average of 16.8 per game. The Broncos tallied 31 assists against South Dakota, which ranks the third-most in program history, and the most since Feb. 16, 2017 when the Broncos dished out 32 against Pepperdine.
SCU has dished out at least 20 assists in each of their last three games - Pacific (22), at Portland (25) and San Diego (21).
Johnny O on Milestone Watch:
Senior Johnny O’Neil needs just one more block for 150 in his career. The Miami Shores product is averaging 1.0 per game, tied for seventh in the league.
Cam Playing Well Down the Stretch:
Senior Camaron Tongue has played some of the best ball of his career as of late. Over the last eight games, the Medfield, Mass. product has averaged 10 ppg on 64.4 percent shooting. He has scored 10 or more in five of those games, including a career-high 19 points on the road against Portland.
Sustained success:
The Broncos have won 20 or more games in three consecutive seasons and four if you exclude the 2020-21 covid season.
Bal Back:
After flirting with the NBA Draft, Adama-Alpha Bal is back for one more season and looking to build off the success he built as a first team All-WCC performer in year one. Bal has been as advertised, leading the team and ranking 14th in the WCC in scoring (13.6) and is tied for the team lead with three 20-point outings. Bal opened the season 24 points vs. Saint Louis turned in a season-best 27 points against Bradley and most recently had 20 points in the win over South Dakota and Gonzaga.
Familiar Faces:
In addition to Bal, who was a First Team All-WCC selection last year, the Broncos brought back six other key rotation pieces. Among them, All-WCC Honorable Mention last season Christoph Tilly, and All-WCC Freshman Team selection sophomore forward Jake Ensminger. In addition, the Broncos return senior forward Johnny O’Neil, senior guard Tyeree Bryan, junior guard Brenton Knapper, and senior forward Camaron Tongue, all key rotation pieces for the Broncos last season. The Broncos returned four of their five starters and 72.8 percent of their scoring from 2023-24.
Added Experience:
The Broncos also bring back senior guard and former Bronco standout Carlos Stewart Jr. As a sophomore at Santa Clara, Stewart Jr. was a First Team All-WCC selection, avg.15.2 ppg. The Broncos also added West Valley College transfer Elijah Mahi, who joins the Broncos after leading West Valley College to an undefeated 33-0 season in 2023-24, capturing the state championship title, and being named California Player of the Year and winning MVP in the state tournament.
Bayou Boys:
Santa Clara has not one, but two Gatorade Louisiana Basketball Player of Year winners on the roster - Stewart (2020-21) and freshman Allen Graves (2023-24).
Preseason Poll:
The Broncos were picked to finish third in the WCC preseason poll, while Bal and Stewart Jr. were named to the Preseason First Team All-WCC.
Former Bronco Named 2025 All-Star:
Former Bronco Jalen Williams was recently named a 2025 NBA All-Star, becoming just the third Santa Clara product to earn an invite to the prestigious event and joining eight-time selection Steve Nash and two-time pick Ken Sears. Williams was the lone player from the WCC selected to this year’s event.
Pipeline to the Pros:
There are just five NCAA D1 men’s basketball programs that produced top-20 picks in the 2022 and 2023 NBA Drafts: Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, Baylor.....and Santa Clara.
The Broncos have produced back-to-back first round selections in the form of Jalen Williams (12th overall to Oklahoma City in 2022) and Brandin Podziemski (19th overall to Golden State in 2023). Additionally, former Bronco forward Keshawn Justice was signed by the Utah Jazz in October 2023 and is currently a member of the Salt Lake Jazz.
After becoming the first Bronco to hear his name called in the NBA Draft since Steve Nash in 1996, Williams more than lived up to his lottery pick hype, finishing runner-up in the NBA Rookie of the Year voting, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors and was named to the 2023 Rising Stars Challenge. He was even better in year two, averaging 19.1 ppg while starting 71 games and was once again voted to the Rising Stars Challenge.
Podziemski was the first WCC player taken off the board in 2023 and also turned in a fantastic rookie season, earning NBA All-Rookie First Team honors and being named to the Rising Stars Challenge. Podz became the first Golden State rookie since Stephen Curry (2009-10) to tally 20-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five or more in a single game, doing so on Dec. 12 against the Phoenix Suns.
Both Williams and Podziemski were also named to the USA Select Team in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
