SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara's undefeated start in Leavey Center remains intact following as the Broncos took down Saint Mary's 62-54 on Saturday evening to improve to 11-0 at home and 7-1 in WCC play. The win broke an eight-game losing skid to the Gaels, giving SCU their first win over their rivals from Moraga since Feb. 8, 2022.

Santa Clara led by as much as 16 in the second half and withstood a second half rally to hand Saint Mary's their first loss in league play on the year. Christian Hammond led the way with a 25-point performance, his eighth 20-point game of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Broncos put together an outstanding defensive effort, holding the Gaels to just 32 percent shooting, including a 4-for-22 mark from 3-point range, and well below their season average of 79.9 points.
• Santa Clara (16-5, 7-1) jumped out to a 9-2 lead and used an 10-1 run to take a 19-9 advantage with 9:46 minutes remaining in the first half. The Broncos maintained the lead for the rest of the half, taking a 32-25 advantage into the locker room.
• SCU shot 46 percent in the opening 20 minutes led by an 11-point effort from Hammond, while holding the Gaels to just 31 percent shooting, including a 3-for-15 mark from 3-point range.
• Santa Clara's momentum carried over into the second half with the Broncos scoring the first seven points of the frame to extend their lead to 39-25. SCU clamped down defensively and held the the potent Gael offense scoreless for the first seven minutes of the second half before they finally found their first point on a free throw. The Broncos took advantage by pushing their lead up to 16 at 42-26 at the under 12 timeout.
• Saint Mary's (17-3, 6-1) finally scored their first field goal of the half with 11:16 remaining to break an 0-for-8 start from the floor. The bucket was the shot in the arm the Gaels needed as they proceeded to go on a 12-0 run to cut the deficit all the way down to four at 42-38 with less than eight minutes remaining.
• Theirry Darlan finally put an end to the spree, breaking a plus-5 minute scoring drought to push the lead back up to 44-38, but the Gaels answered with a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game.
• The momentum shifted right back to the Broncos following a jumper from Sash Gavalyugov and a steal and slam from Bukky Oboye that made it 48-41 with 5:45 on the clock. The Gaels worked the score back to four before Hammond delivered with a bucket in the paint to send SCU into the final media timeout with a six-point advantage at 50-44.  
• Saint Mary's wasn't finished yet, scoring four more unanswered to bring the game to its smallest deficit of the night at 50-48, but the Broncos had an answer yet again with a Hammond jumper and two freebies from Allen Graves to extend the lead up to 54-48.
• Oboye threw down another slam with 30 seconds remaining to push the lead up to nine and all but seal the deal. The Gaels scored three more to keep the Broncos on their toes, but Hammond drew a late foul and knocked down both freebies to officially put the game on ice.  
• Santa Clara finished the night 41 percent from the field and 15-for-20 at the charity stripe.
• Saint Mary's had an unusually rough night at the free throw line after entering the game as the nation's leader in free throw percentage. The Gaels converted on just 62 percent (13-of-21).
• The conference's leading scorer, Paulius Murauskas was held to 12 points, and he pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for the double-double.

NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• Hammond was 9-for-10 from the free throw line as part of his 25-point barrage. He also pulled down five rebounds to go with two assists and a steal in 33 minutes of work.  It was also his team-high 17^th double figure scoring effort of the season.
• Graves turned in his 13^th double figure scoring game and fifth-straight with 11 points to go with a team-best eight rebounds.
• Elijah Mahi tied his career-high with three steals as part of an eight-point, six-rebound night.
• Gavalyugov had yet another productive game with nine points, three rebounds and a steal while Oboye contributed six points, four rebounds and a pair of blocks.
• Santa Clara's 11-game win streak in Leavey Center is their longest since winning 17-straight in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
• The win was SCU's first over the Gaels since Feb. 8, 2022 when Jalen Williams and company took down the then 22nd-ranked Gaels 77-72 in Leavey Center. 
• The Broncos improve to 2-8 over their last 10 games against the Gaels.

POSTGAME COMMENTS:



UP NEXT:
The Broncos will have a couple days of off before resuming action next Saturday, Jan. 24, at San Diego.