Men’s Basketball Falls To Dons
San Francisco capitalizes on turnovers to win
John Brussa
Sports Editor
February 14, 2019
Heading into Saturday’s game against third-ranked San Francisco, Men’s Basketball was riding a two-game win-streak and looking to add on as the season reaches its late stages. Conversely, the Dons, on a three-game losing streak—all coming while on the road—desperately needed a win. In a contest that was tied at three separate intervals, the Dons topped the Broncos, 78-72.
Sophomore forward Josip Vrankic earned his fifth doubledouble of the year and led Santa Clara with 24 points and 15 rebounds. First-year guard Trey Wertz—averaging 12.5 points per game—knocked down 15, going 7-11 on field goals.
Turnovers—specifically points off of turnovers—were the game’s deciding factor. The Broncos gave up the ball 17 times compared to San Francisco’s 10, and the latter capitalized by scoring 23 points as a result.
At the end of the first half, Santa Clara trailed by just three points. With less than five minutes to go in regulation, however, the Broncos faced a 10 point deficit. Wertz and Vrankic chiseled away at the Dons’ lead, putting the game at 67-63 with 2:56 remaining before key shots were made by San Francisco and the Broncos were forced to put them on the free throw line and cement their win.
The Broncos return home today to take on Saint Mary’s at 8 p.m. in the Leavey Center.
Women’s Water Polo
LA JOLLA, Calif.—The Broncos went south last weekend to compete in UC San Diego’s two-day Triton Invitational.
Escaping the rain storms of northern California and playing under La Jolla’s sunny skies, Santa Clara faced No. 3 UCLA in their first matchup Saturday morning. The undefeated Bruins handed the Broncos a blistering 17-2 loss, leaving no doubt as to why they’re nationally ranked. Senior Hannah Buck and junior Hailey Eberle each had a goal for Santa Clara.
Later in the afternoon, the Broncos were edged out 10-8 by their second opponent of the day, Marist. Buck and Eberle each scored twice, as did senior Annie Eldridge, but it was not enough to counter the Red Foxes’ offensive efforts in the final period of the match.
The losses continued for the Broncos on Sunday. Taking on Cal State East Bay, Santa Clara led by a goal most of the fourth period before the Pioneers rallied to score twice and cement a 8-7 win. The match-up was the fifth-straight one-goal game between the two teams.
During their fourth and final game of the weekend, the Broncos took the Pomona-Pitzer Tigers into overtime before being outscored and losing 8-6. Buck scored three times and put Santa Clara ahead 6-5 before the Tigers tied it up with 54 seconds left.
Men’s Tennis
PROVO, Utah—In their West Coast Conference opener on Saturday, Men’s Tennis was hosted by BYU in the Cougars’ indoor court facilities.
Facing the WCC Doubles Team of the Week, seniors Connor Garnett and Robert Seby were held scoreless on court three, losing in six sets. BYU’s court one duo then defeated the Broncos pairing of junior Jesus Tapiador Barajas and senior Andrew Gu to clinch the doubles point for the day. The Cougars swept the Santa Clara in singles play and won the day 4-0.
The Broncos will host UC Davis this Saturday and Nevada on Sunday following four straight road matches.
Contact John Brussa at jbrussa@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.