SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball is off to their best start in conference play since 1997-98 following a dominant 98-70 victory over San Diego to improve to 4-0 in WCC games. The Broncos shot 50 percent from the floor, knocked down 14 treys and were plus-24 in rebound margin with a season-high 49 total boards.

Christian Hammond once again topped 20 points, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting for his second-straight game with 20 or more and seventh such game of the season, while each of the nine other Broncos that saw action notched at least four points in the winning effort.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The Broncos (13-4, 4-0) set the tempo early as they jumped out to a 45-32 first-half advantage after shooting 47 percent from the field and dominating the boards with a 27-9 advantage, including an 11-0 differential on the offensive glass.
• Santa Clara opened the game with a 7-0 run and used a 11-0 run later in the period to take a 14-point advantage at 36-22 with 5:52 remaining.
• Hammond led the charge in the opening 20 minutes with 13 points on a crisp 5-of-7 shooting.
• San Diego (6-10, 1-3) came out of the second half swinging with a quick 8-2 run that cut the deficit to seven at 47-40 just two and a half minutes into the half. The threat would not last long, however, as the Broncos punched back with a 17-2 run of their own to push the lead up to 22 at 66-44 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Thierry Darlan knocked down consecutive treys as part of that spree.
• The Broncos continued to pour it on, extending the lead to 27 with 8:03 remaining and 25 with 2:30 to play at 90-65. SCU led by 20 when walk-on senior Brendan Yarusso entered the game and went on a tear himself over the final 1:08 of action, scoring eight points on 2-of-3 3-point shooting and a pair of free throws.
• Santa Clara shot exactly 50 percent at 37-for-74 and they were also a perfect 10-for-10 at the free throw line. They cleaned up the offensive glass with 19 offensive rebounds and dished out 24 assists to the Torero's 16.
• San Diego shot 43 percent (26-of-60) and were out-rebounded 49-25. Leading scorer Ty-la Johnson, who entered the game as the WCC's leading scorer in conference play, tied Hammond for the game-high scoring total of 21 points to go with seven assists.

NOTABLE NUMBERS:

• The Broncos are 4-0 to open WCC play for the first time since the 1997-98 season when they won five-straight to open the year. 
• Hammond has now scored in double figures in 14 games on the season, and has scored 15 or more on ten occasions.
• Darlan knocked down a career-best four 3-pointers as part of a 14-point night, tying his season-high point total. The junior also pulled down six rebounds and had three assists
• Allen Graves was just a rebound shy of a double-double, finishing with 12 points and nine rebounds to go with three assists and a steal.
• Jake Ensminger had an outstanding game with nine points, seven rebounds and five assists. The redshirt senior tied his season-high with three triples. 
• Elijah Mahi didn't have his usual high-scoring night, breaking a streak of 10 straight games with double figure points, but more than made up for it in other ways with a career-high nine assists, seven rebounds and two steals in addition to seven points.
• Brenton Knapper scored 10 points and pulled down a season-high six rebounds. He has reached double figure scoring in seven games.
• Bukky Oboye notched three blocks and has four games with at least three rejections on the season. He also pulled down six rebounds and had four points.
• Sash Gavalyugov also had a strong night with eight points and two steals
• Santa Clara shot 50 percent or better for the sixth time this season. They are undefeated when doing so.
• The Broncos have hit 10 or more treys in 11 games this season.
• Santa Clara's 27 first-half rebounds were their most in a half since also pulling down 27 in the second half of the season opener against Cal Poly Humboldt. Their 49 total rebounds are their most of the season and most since pulling down 52 at Portland last season.
• The Broncos dished out 24 assists for their eighth game with 20 or more.
• SCU also added to their season total for games with 10 or more steals, finishing the night with 13 for their ninth such game. 
• Santa Clara is now 8-0 inside the Leavey Center this season.

POSTGAME COMMENTS: UP NEXT:
The Broncos head to Spokane on Thursday, Jan. 8, to take on No. 7 Gonzaga in an 8:30 p.m. PT tip on ESPN2.