SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Santa Clara men's basketball opened with a 14-0 run and never looked back in a 95-72 wire-to-wire victory Wednesday night against Milwaukee. The Broncos finished with 29 assists and 12 steals while scoring 25 points off 18 Panther turnovers.
Santa Clara (2-0) jumped out to a big lead early and didn't allow their first basket defensively until nearly seven minutes into the contest. The Broncos pushed the lead to 20-3 and led by as much as 28 in the opening half before taking a 46-27 advantage into the locker room. SCU suffocated the Panthers (0-2) defensively in the opening 20 minutes with 13 forced turnovers and allowing just a 26.7 percent scoring clip.
SCU continued to roll in the second half with
Chris Tadjo and
Jake Ensminger combining for a five-point spurt with less than 15 minutes on the game clock that pushed the lead to 24 at 62-38. The Broncos' lead never dropped below 20 for the remainder of the night and extended to as much as 31 following a thunderous dunk by
Sidi Gueye at the 10:55 mark.
Santa Clara shot 48.6 percent for the evening while allowing 37.5 percent defensively. The Broncos connected on 11-of-29 attempts from beyond the arc and edged the Panthers on the boards with a 40-39 advantage. SCU dominated the turnover battle, forcing 18 that led to 25 points while allowing just six points off of 11 turnovers offensively.
Ensminger, playing in his 100th career game in a Bronco Uniform, tallied 15 points to lead the Broncos in scoring while four others also reached double figure scoring -
David Castillo (13),
Brad Longcor III (11),
Francis Chukwudebelu (10), and
Sidi Gueye (10).
Chris Tadjo posted a career-best 10 rebounds while
Sash Gavalyugov and
Thierry Darlan both logged career-highs in assists with eight and six, respectively.
GAME NOTES:
- SCU's 29 assists are tied for the sixth-most in program history.
- The Broncos hit double-digit 3-pointers for the second-straight game, finishing 11-for-29 from beyond the arc.
- Santa Clara posted 11 first-half steals and finished with 12 for the game.
- Ensminger logged his 12th career game in double-figure scoring, finishing with 15 points (6-7 FG, 3-3 3PT) to go with seven rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals.
- Longcor reached double-figure scoring for the second straight game, and also posted a pair of blocks to go with five assists.
- Castillo also scored in double figures for the second consecutive game and also tallied a team-best three steals.
- Gueye, a transfer from Arizona, logged a career-high in points, finishing with 10 on 5-for-5 shooting.
- Tadjo became the first Bronco with double-figure rebounds since
Elijah Mahi pulled down 11 in last season's WCC Championship quarterfinal vs. Pacific.
- SCU had at least five players score in double figures for the second-straight game.
- Santa Clara improved to 67-19 (.779) inside the Leavey Center since 2021-22 and are 16-1 over the last two seasons.
POSTGAME INTERVIEWS:
NEXT UP:
The Broncos host Sacramento State on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at Leavey Center for the last of three straight home games to open the 2026-27 season.
