Bronco briefs

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Gonzaga 85, Santa Clara 71

The Zags extended their home winning streak to 34 with a 14-point victory over the Broncos on Saturday night. Santa Clara was down 48-32 at the half and Gonzaga grew their lead to as many as 25 points in the second half before the Broncos staged a valiant comeback effort. Sophomore forward Mitch Henke led Santa Clara with 17 points while senior forward Travis Niesen, who did not start the game, followed with 14. Adam Morrison and J.P. Batista combined for 45 points total. The Broncos shot poorly from beyond the arc, going 4-for-17, and also had trouble at the free throw line as they converted on only 60 percent of their chances.

Santa Clara 80, Portland 56

Santa Clara finally ended its seven-game losing streak with a decisive win at Portland. Niesen led with 25 points as the Broncos shot 65 percent from the floor, a season high. The Pilots led briefly in the opening minutes of the game, but Santa Clara took off in the first half on a 16-6 run. At halftime, the Broncos led by 13 and opened the second half on a 12-2 scoring run. Portland lost its fifth game in a row and is now tied with Santa Clara for the worst record in the West Coast Conference.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

Santa Clara 74, Gonzaga 52

Seeking revenge after their loss at Gonzaga last month, the Lady Broncos overwhelmed their opponent last Thursday night at the Leavey Center. Santa Clara scored 43 points alone in the second half, cruising to victory. With only two points in the first half, senior guard Michelle Cozad got 14 in the second to help propel her team past the Bulldogs. The Broncos only led by four at the half before they turned up the defensive heat and forced Gonzaga into committing 15 turnovers in the second half. The Broncos pulled away and went up by 26 with just under nine minutes to play.

Santa Clara 67, Portland 58

The Broncos secured their sixth-straight win on Saturday afternoon, matching the longest winning streak by the women's team in four years. Junior forward Kasey Monteith scored her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Santa Clara was up by eight at the half, but the Pilots went on a 9-2 run at the beginning of the second half, cutting the lead to one. Senior guard Kayla Huss responded with a pair of threes and sophomore guard Tracey Walker had two free throws to up the Broncos' lead to 10. Cozad, who recently earned her sixth West Coast Conference Player of the Week honor this season, had a team-high 18 points, while sophomore guard Chandice Cronk had 17. With the win, Santa Clara took over sole possession of second place in the West Coast Conference.

BASEBALL

Pacific 4, Santa Clara 1

Bronco skipper Mark O'Brien decided to go with freshman Mark O'Neill in Santa Clara's season opener at Stephen Schott Stadium Friday night. Pacific's Ryan Glasgow scored first in the top of the second off a wild pitch with two outs. In the bottom of the same inning, senior Dustin Realini hit a line-drive single with men on second and third to even the score. However, a three-run eighth inning for the Tigers helped seal the win after the Broncos failed to throw home on a grounder off the bat of Pacific's Justin Baum.

Pacific 14, Santa Clara 6

In Stockton, the Broncos fell for the second consecutive time against Pacific, which had a seven-run first inning and a six-run fourth to go up 2-0 in the series. Freshman Brady Fuerst went 2-for-2 in his collegiate debut with two RBIs and junior outfielder Kyle Hartz, a transfer from De Anza College, went 2-for-5 with a double.

Santa Clara 8, Pacific 3

In the final game of the series, Santa Clara was able to avoid the Pacific sweep behind freshman Matt Wickswat's five shutout innings on the mound. Senior catcher Kris Watts went 3-for-4 and had three RBIs off a pair of doubles to lead the Bronco effort. Senior Jason Matteucci went 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored as Santa Clara won its first game of the season.

UC Davis 11, Santa Clara 6

On Tuesday afternoon, Santa Clara dropped their third game of the season at Dobbins Stadium in Davis. Junior Carl Bacon hit the first home run of the season for the Broncos who found themselves down 2-0 in the top of the third. A Matteucci single later in the inning helped tie the game, but a five-run eighth for the Aggies propelled them to the win. Santa Clara will host a home series against the San Diego State Aztecs on Friday night at 6 p.m.

MEN'S TENNIS

Santa Clara 6, Princeton 1

At home against the Tigers, Santa Clara dropped the doubles point, but was able to capture all six singles matches for six points and a victory which put them at 5-3 on the season. The No. 1 duo of Jan Macek and Bobby Rasmussen won the only doubles match for the Broncos by a score of 8-3. Each singles match for Santa Clara went only two sets.

Fresno State 5, Santa Clara 2

Freshman Tommy Hicks and sophomore A.J. Kerin were able to win their matches to net two points for the Broncos, but it was not enough as the Bulldogs capitalized on Santa Clara's doubles losses to win that point. Macek, Rasmussen, freshman Brian Brogan and sophomore Kevin McQuaid all lost their singles matches, dropping Santa Clara to 5-4 on the year. The team travels to Provo, Utah on Friday to face BYU.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

Santa Clara 5, Nevada 2

Santa Clara won the doubles point with strong play from both Myra Davoudi and Stephanie Galainena as well as Erika Barnes and Casey Knutson who won their matches 8-3 and 8-4, respectively. In singles action, the Broncos netted four points on wins from Knutson, Galainena, Samantha Georgino and Kimberly Daniel.

UCSB 5, Santa Clara 1

Doubles play was abandoned because of rain and Santa Clara's only point came from Erika Barnes, who won her match 6-3, 6-1.

--From staff reports