Men’s Basketball Beats Portland

Santa Clara splits northwest roadtrip, beats Portland 90-84

Brent HanowerTHE SANTA CLARAFebruary 4, 2016

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]anta Clara split its road trip to the Pacific Northwest over the weekend.

On Thursday, the Broncos dropped an 84-67 contest to WCC powerhouse Gonzaga (16-5), in Spokane. On Saturday, the team defeated the Portland Pilots (9-15, 3-8) 90-84 extending their record to 8-15 overall and 4-7 in WCC games.

Saturday’s game against the Pilots was highly contested like the previous matchup, which the Broncos won 84-77. Both teams shot well from the field with  Santa Clara edging the Pilots 53.4 percent to 51.7 percent.

This included a 50 percent effort from behind the three point line for the Broncos, compared to the Pilot’s 31.6 percent. The Broncos had just one turnover in the first half of play, however, they had ten in the second half.

Jared Brownridge torched the Pilots, dropping 38 points, including 7-11 on threes.

Feagin added 15 points for the Broncos, Nate Kratch added eight points and seven rebounds  (a game high) and Matt Hubbard added 10 points–all in the first half.

Alec Wintering, fifth in the WCC in points per game, added 31 points, leading the Pilots. Bryce Pressley added 17 points, while D’Marques Tyson added 12 points.

Towards the end of the first half, a deep three by Brownridge forced the Pilots to call a timeout. He finished with 16 points at half. The Pilots struggled also struggled late, the Broncos capitalized with a 12-1 run in the final 4:01 of the first half. The Broncos ended the half up 47-34. Pressley led the Pilots with 11 points at half.

Brownridge stayed hot in the second half, adding 22 points, and is second in the WCC in points per game at an average of 20. Wintering countered with 22 points of his own.

The Pilots outscored the Broncos in the second half 50-43, however, a clutch late performance by Feagin propelled the Broncos to victory.

Feagin scored 13 points in the second half, including a perfect 6-6 for six points on free throws late in the game, resulting in the 90-84 win.

“At Portland we said we were going to go out and attack the rim,” Feagin said. They’re a transition team but they don’t guard well in transition so we kept pushing at them. We did well with that at the end of the first half.”

Earlier in the week, the Broncos were torched by Gonzaga’s Kyle Wiltjer, who led the Bulldogs with 35 points, including 7-10 on threes. The forward leads the WCC in scoring, averaging 22 points per game this season.

“With a player like Wiltjer, you just have to try to contain him,” Brownridge said. “You know you’re not going to stop him and we knew that going into the game. He found a way so I give him a lot of credit.”

The Broncos gained momentum in the second half, but it was too late. In the second half the Broncos outscored the Bulldogs 45-38. However, the first half deficit was too much for the Broncos, who fell 67-84.

Having dropped their previous matchup to USF (11-10), the Broncos will again face the Dons in San Francisco on Saturday at 8 p.m.

The Dons will warm up for the Broncos against NAIA opponent Menlo College on Tuesday, in what will likely be a blowout. 

Contact Brent Hanower at bhanower@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.