PORTLAND, Ore. - Another outstanding 3-point shooting performance coupled with yet another dominant defensive effort resulted in Santa Clara men's basketball running away with a convincing 47-point victory over Portland on Thursday evening. The Broncos knocked down 16 treys and held the Pilots to a season-low 25.4 percent shooting as they cruised to a 97-50 win inside the Chiles Center. The 47-point margin of victory is tied for the largest in a road game in program history and the 16 treys set a new program single-season record for games with 15 or more 3-pointers (3). 

The Broncos (16-9, 8-4) used a 17-0 run in the second half to blow the game wide open, shooting a blistering 51.5 percent from the field. Their stifling defense clamped down around the perimeter to hold Portland (8-17, 3-9) to just 21.9 percent from 3-point range, their fifth game this season holding an opponent to under 25 percent from beyond the arc. Five Broncos finished in double figure scoring led by a career-high 19 points from senior Camaron Tongue while Elijah Mahi tallied his first career double-double and Brenton Knapper fought through flu-like symptoms to knock down a career-high 5-of-6 3-point attempts. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Back-to-back treys from Adama-Alpha Bal gave the Broncos an early 6-0 advantage. The scorching hot shooting didn't stop there as the Broncos hit five of their first six from beyond the arc to take a 17-10 lead. Bal hit his fourth three of the game as the Broncos went up eight heading into the under 12 media timeout.
• A 5-0 spurt by Portland cut the lead to four as the Broncos went over three minutes without  a bucket, but an old-fashioned 3-point play from Tongue ended the cold streak.
• A layup from Tongue capped a 7-0 Broncos run to give Santa Clara their largest lead of the half at 39-27, as the Broncos held Portland to just one field goal for the final four minutes of the first half to take a 10 point lead at the break.
• A Johnny O'Neil three ball capped an 8-0 Broncos run to open the second half, and back-to-back treys from Brenton Knapper gave Santa Clara their largest lead to that point at 59-36. The Broncos held the Pilots scoreless for over four minutes as they mustered together a 17-0 run to jump ahead by 41, capped off by two free throws from Tongue.
• A three pointer from Chris Austin, who led Portland with 12 points, cut the Broncos lead to 40, but the Broncos scored the final seven points of the game after Elijah Mahi capped off his first career double-double with two free-throws, cruising to a 97-50 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• The Broncos pulled down a season-high 52 rebounds, their most since tallying 55 against San Diego in the WCC quarterfinals last season on March 9, 2024.
• The Broncos' 47 point victory was their largest since Nov. 19, 2019, when they took down Notre Dame de Namur, 101-54. It was their largest against a conference opponent since a 51-point win over Pepperdine on Feb. 16, 2017. 
• This was Santa Clara's eighth game in which they've scored 90 or more points - tied for the second most in a single season in program history. 
• This was the 16th game this season that Santa Clara has knocked down 10 or more 3-pointers. 
• The Broncos held Portland to just 16 made field goals, their fewest allowed against a conference opponent since Feb. 2, 2017 (13 - also against Portland). 
• Tenth game this season in which Santa Clara has shot 50 percent or better (8-2). 
• Tongue's 19 points was his eighth game of the season in double figures and sixth over the last 10 games. 
• Bal finished with 16 points with a 4-for-7 mark from beyond the arc and dished out five assists. He tied Christoph Tilly for the team lead with 19 double figure scoring outings on the season. 
• Knapper finished with a season-high 15 points, his second game of the season in double figures.
• Mahi finished with a career-high 10 rebounds to go with his 11 points for the double-double.
• O'Neil came up one rebound shy of a double-double of his own with 18 points (4-8 3PT) and nine rebounds. 
• Tyeree Bryan had a season-high 10 rebounds, his most as a Bronco, and added a career high-tying five assists.

POSTGAME COMMENTS:  
UP NEXT: The Broncos return home to the Leavey Center for a match up with San Diego on Saturday at 4 p.m. for Alumni Night. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and tickets can be purchased here.