SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Santa Clara men's basketball is off to their best start since 1969-70. The Broncos held off Seattle U. for an 84-72 victory inside Leavey Center Wednesday evening to improve to 22-5 overall and 13-1 in WCC play, tying the program record for most conference victories. SCU has won nine consecutive games for their longest winning streak since 1994-95, and have won all 13 games inside Leavey Center.
Santa Clara shot 58.6 percent in the second half and had three players score 15 or more led by a 21-point effort from redshirt freshman
Sash Gavalyugov off the bench.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Scoring was hard to come by for both teams in the opening half; however, the Broncos were on a roll in the early stages, jumping out to an early 17-5 advantage thanks to a 15-0 run. Seattle, however, pushed back and worked the lead all the way down to one at 25-24 with 5:49 remaining in the half. Gavalyugov answered for Santa Clara with back-to-back 3-pointers to help shift the momentum back in the Broncos' favor at 31-24 with 3:20 left in the period.
- Santa Clara ultimately took a 33-29 lead into the locker room despite shooting just 32 percent for the half (12-of-38) against a 37 percent clip for the Redhawks (11-of-30). A key difference was in the turnover department with SCU scoring nine points on five takeaways while not committing a single turnover of their own offensively.
- Both offenses came alive in half No. 2, especially from 3-point range where the Broncos knocked down 8-of-18 attempts and Seattle converted 77.8 percent with a 7-for-9 mark from distance.
- Santa Clara regained a 10-point advantage early in the second half on an Elijah Mahi triple that made it 46-36, but the Redhawks (15-11, 4-9) repeatedly answered to keep the pressure up and made it a two-possession game at 76-70 with less than three minutes to play.
- Mahi scored in the paint inside the final two minutes to push the lead back up to eight and Santa Clara locked in defensively to hold Seattle scoreless over the final two minutes to put a clamp on the contest.
- The Broncos were 17-for-29 from the floor in the second half (58.6 percent) while Seattle was also north of 50 percent at 15-of-28 (53.6).
- Points off turnovers were a one-sided affair with Santa Clara taking advantage of 11 takeaways with 17 points off them while only committing a season-low three turnovers themselves resulting in zero points.
- The Broncos edged Seattle on the boards at 35-34 and tallied nine offensive rebounds. SCU finished the game with a 43.3 percent scoring clip while Seattle fared slightly better at 44.8 percent.
- Seattle's Jun Seok Yeo tied for the team lead of 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for a double-double to lead the Redhawks.
NOTABLE NUMBERS:
- Santa Clara remains a perfect 13-0 in home games this season, tied for the third-longest home winning streak in program history.
- At 22-5, SCU is off to their best start since 1969-70 when the Broncos also started 22-5 en route to a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
- 13 victories in WCC play match the total from both the 1967-68 and 1968-69 teams for the best in program history. Both teams finished the year 13-1 en route to WCC Championship titles.
- Gavalyugov finished 5-of-9 from 3-point range and also had four rebounds on the night. His 21-point total ranks as his second-best of the season.
- Christian Hammond reached double-figure scoring for a team-best 22nd time, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds and a pair of steals.
- Allen Graves had yet another huge night from off the bench as he extended his double-figure scoring streak to 11 with 15 points thanks in part to a career-best 4-of-6 performance from 3-point range. The big man also pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, logged three steals and had a block.
- Graves now has 11 games with three or more steals on the season.
- Bukky Oboye blocked a trio of shots for his fifth game of the year with at least three swats. The big man also had eight points and five rebounds.
- Mahi fell just short of double-figure scoring, finishing with nine points, but had a great night dishing the rock with seven assists.
- Santa Clara's three turnovers are their fewest in a game since March 7, 2022 in the WCC Tournament semifinal vs. Saint Mary's when the Broncos also committed just three.
- The Broncos shot 13-of-35 from 3-point range for their 17th game with 10 or more triples on the season.
- Santa Clara dished out 20 assists on 29 field goals for their 10th game with 20 or more on the year.
- SCU tallied 11 steals on the evening for their 14th game with 10 or more.
- Santa Clara improved to 17-0 on the season when scoring 80 or more points.
POSTGAME COMMENTS:
UP NEXT:
The stage is set for the top two teams in the WCC to square off on Valentine's Day in Leavey Center. The Broncos will host No. 12 Gonzaga for a 7:30 p.m. tip that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
