Broncos Upset Cross-town Rival

Santa Clara comes from behind to beat Saint Mary's on the road

Santa Clara beat cross-town rival Saint Mary’s 67-66 in a nail-biter last Saturday evening on the road. 

“Obviously, given the great respect we have for Saint Mary's, it's a tremendous moment for our team to come on the road and get the win,” Santa Clara Head Coach Herb Sendek said. “I thought our guys played excellent basketball throughout the game.”

Junior stand-out Josip Vrankic scored a season-high 22 points with 10 rebounds. 

Wake Forest transfer DJ Michell put 16 on the board, 12 of which came within the final four minutes. 

With the score at 63-all in the last 43 seconds and a rowdy Saint Mary’s student section whose cheers filled the stadium, Vrankic broke that tie with a basket at the bottom of the key. 

The Gaels answered with 33 seconds left on the clock. Junior forward Malik Fitts hit a big three to put Saint Mary’s up 66-65. 

The time dwindled down, and chaos erupted at the hoop after a driving layup was missed by Santa Clara’s Trey Wertz. 

Luckily, Vrankic showcased gritty work at the glass with a layup following two offensive rebounds that bounced off the backboard in the last nine seconds. 

This gave Santa Clara the lead at 67-65. Fitts was denied in the paint in the final three seconds, and the Broncos picked up their first major road win of the 2019-2020 campaign.

Vrankic commented on this play during a postgame interview earlier this week. 

“Luckily I got the rebound, [after Wertz’s missed drive] and when I got the ball in my hands I knew I had to try and make a play,” Vrankic said. “So I went up with it, missed again, got it back and just tried to score.”

Saint Mary’s finished third in West Coast Conference rankings last year behind BYU and No. 1 Gonzaga. Santa Clara and Saint Mary's are longtime rivals and original WCC members. 

The series began in 1910 and the teams played for the 227th time last weekend, making the Gaels the most common opponent in Bronco history. This win was an important one for Santa Clara.

“It was a really good feeling to get that win,” Michell said. “We worked really hard for it. We played as one, we listened to what our coaches had to say and what they wanted us to do, and we executed that.” 

The Broncos finish up their three-game road stretch when they play at top-ranked Gonzaga on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. and the game will air nationally on ESPN2. Santa Clara plays at home on Jan. 18 at 6 p.m. versus Pacific. 

Contact Lacey Yahnke at lyahnke@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.