DENTON, Texas – Playing in the Lone Star State for the first time since 2011, Santa Clara men's basketball erased a 10-point second-half deficit and completed the comeback with a 76-71 victory over North Texas inside UNT Coliseum Wednesday evening to remain undefeated on the young season. The Broncos' balanced offensive attack saw five players score in double figures led by a career-best 16-point effort from senior
Thierry Darlan off the bench.
Santa Clara (4-0) put the first points on the board in the contest, but quickly found themselves down by seven at 14-7 following an 8-0 North Texas run. Back-to-back 3-point buckets by Darlan and
Fedor Zugic tied the game at 16 at the 10:38 mark, but the Mean Green (2-1) scored five-straight of their own to regain control, and they proceeded to push the lead up to nine with less than four minutes left. SCU pushed back with
Jake Ensminger scoring in the paint and Darlan converting a 4-point play after drawing a foul on his third triple of the half, however North Texas closed the final two minutes with a 6-2 advantage to take a 41-34 lead into the break.
North Texas extended the lead to double figures at 51-41 at the first media timeout of the second half, but an 8-1 Bronco scoring spree that included a five-point run by
Brad Longcor III on his own cut the deficit to one possession at 13:53 on the clock. The Mean Green had an answer though, and used a a quick 6-0 burst of their own to regain control before
David Castillo knocked down a triple to bring the score back to 58-52 at the under-12 timeout. The Kansas State transfer then flipped the script completely after knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to just one at 61-60 with 9:29 remaining. The Broncos would go on to tie the game at 66 on a
Chris Tadjo second-chance layup with less than four minutes to play, and just two possessions later, Santa Clara grabbed the lead on a Darlan layup in transition off a steal with just 2:44 remaining.
The Bronco Defense did not allow a field goal for the final eight minutes of the contest, although North Texas squandered an opportunity to take a lead with 1:06 remaining after Casmir Chamis missed a dunk following a turnover. SCU took full advantage and knocked down all four free throw attempts in the final 20 seconds to put the game on ice.
Santa Clara shot just 43 percent from the floor and was limited to an 8-for-29 mark from the perimeter, however they pulled down 41 rebounds, including 16 off the offensive glass that led to 15 second-chance points.
GAME NOTES/KEY PERFORMANCES
- Herb Sendek broke a tie with Bob Feerick for the third-most wins in program history (191).
- SCU has had at least five players score in double figures in all four games this season.
- Thierry Darlan was a major spark off the bench, logging a team-high and career-best 16 points to go with nine rebounds. Twelve of his points came in the first half to help the Broncos keep within striking distance. It was his first game in double-figure scoring on the year and the seventh of his career.
- Chris Tadjo also flirted with a double-double after tying his season/career high in points (14) and posting eight rebounds.
- SCU's leading scorer David Castillo reached double figures for the fourth-straight game to open his Bronco career. He finished 5-for-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from 3PT range for 13 points.
- Sash Gavalyugov notched 10 points for his third game in double-figure scoring on the year and for the 13th time of his career.
- Brad Longcor III also dropped 10 points to also reach 10 or more for the third time this year.
- The Broncos trailed at the half (41-34) for the first time this season.
- This was Santa Clara's first game played in the state of Texas since Dec. 21, 2011 when the Broncos fell 72-71 in a road game against Houston Baptist.
- The Broncos improve to 5-0 all-time against North Texas.
- Santa Clara was missing one of their top players as fifth-year senior Elijah Mahi missed the trip due to illness.
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
UP NEXT:
A monster nonconference game between the preseason favorites of the West Coast Conference and Mountain West Conference will commence Saturday evening inside the Leavey Center as the Broncos host New Mexico (3-0) for a 7:00 p.m. tip. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
