LAS VEGAS - Santa Clara men's basketball ended their 2025 Credit Union 1 WCC Basketball Championship run short on Sunday night, falling to Pepperdine 78-76 at the Orleans Arena. The Broncos hit eight threes in the first half and led by as many as 13, but lost their stride in the second half, only hitting four treys and going over five minutes without a basket en route to a heartbreaking defeat. Tyeree Bryan led the Broncos with 18 points, his 15th game of the season in double figures, while Brenton Knapper added 17 points, just one shy of his season high.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Back-to-back triples from Tyeree Bryan and Carlos Stewart Jr. gave the Broncos an early 6-0 advantage. Brenton Knapper scored eight straight points by himself to put them ahead 21-8.
• A 10-2 Waves run cut the Santa Clara lead to three with four minutes left in the first half. Adama-Alpha Bal hit the eighth three pointer of the first half for the Broncos to put them up five, and after a Pepperdine dunk, a layup from Camaron Tongue put the Broncos up four to close out the first frame.
• A 5-0 Broncos spurt put them back up seven after an-and-one bucket from Bal, but the Waves went on an 8-2 run to cut the Broncos lead to one. Santa Clara went over five minutes without a bucket as a 15-4 Pepperdine run turned the tide in their favor as they took their largest lead of the game at 66-58 with seven minutes left.
• Back-to-back treys from Bryan and Knapper cut the Waves lead to three with four minutes left, and after a three from the Waves, a huge offensive rebound from Christoph Tilly propelled the Broncos to a Bal trey.
• A jumper from Stef Todorovic, who finished with 19 points, put Pepperdine back up five, but a steal and fastbreak dunk from Tilly cut the lead to three again with 42 seconds left. A stop from the Broncos led to a game-tying three point attempt from Bal that just missed the mark. Two free throws from the Waves and a last second three from Bryan gave the Waves the shocking 78-76 upset.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Brenton Knapper had his fifth game of the season in double figures with 17 points, just one shy of his season high.
• The Broncos hit 12 threes, extending their season total to a program record 347, just two short of tying the WCC record of 349 set by San Francisco in 2022-23. This is the 22nd time this year they've hit 10 or more treys (17-5 overall).
• Tyeree Bryan had his 15th game of the season in double figures with 18 points .
• Johnny O'Neil had his 10th game of the season in double digits with 10 points.
• The Broncos won the rebounding battle for the 21st game this season (17-4 overall).

POSTGAME COMMENTS: