Santa Clara men’s basketball traveled to Moraga, California to face Saint Mary’s College on Wednesday, Feb. 25, in a matchup with major implications as both teams competed for better positioning in the WCC tournament. The game was packed with Saint Mary’s fans, who were loud and passionate throughout the night, creating a hostile environment for the Broncos. Still, Santa Clara has won in tough road games before, and the crowd alone does not fully explain the Broncos’ performance. Santa Clara’s chances of receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament began to slip away at halftime. The Broncos now rely on a strong run in the upcoming WCC Tournament to strengthen their case. The Gaels led 75-59 with five minutes remaining and extended their lead to as many as 23 in the final two minutes before securing an 86-67 victory. While Saint Mary’s shot better than Santa Clara from both the field and the 3-point line, the biggest difference came on the rebounds. The Gaels dominated the rebounding battle 51-21. What went wrong? The answer started on the boards. The 30-rebound deficit was impossible to overcome. As the scoring margin widened, head coach Herb Sendek grew increasingly frustrated on the bench. Santa Clara is one of two WCC teams with three players averaging over 13 points per game in conference play: Hammond, Mahi and Graves. However, against Saint Mary’s, Hammond finished with just 11 points, and Mahi added 5. The loss drops Santa Clara to third place in the WCC standings and significantly reduces their chances of climbing higher before the conference tournament, leaving fans searching for answers. Sendek and his team knew what was at stake and how important it was to get the job done. The Broncos had defeated Saint Mary’s at home on Jan. 17, 62-54. In that matchup, Santa Clara was outrebounded by just 5. Next up: The Broncos will play their final regular-season game against Oregon State at Leavey Center on Saturday Feb, 28, at 5 p.m., where they will honor seniors Brenton Knapper ’26, Elijah Mahi ’26, Malachi Douyon ’26 and Brendan Yarusso ’26. 📝: @aneeka.sideline 📷: @ninaglickphoto

On February 21st, APSU hosted their annual night market. We went around asking students their thoughts on the event!