Ruff Riders Raise Performance

Broncos fall after “emotional high” against Gonzaga

Tyler J. ScottTHE SANTA CLARAFebruary 12, 2014 

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he men’s basketball team almost brought down Leavey Center last Thursday in a valiant effort versus the No. 2-ranked Gonzaga University Bulldogs.

They then followed it up with a lopsided defeat against the University of Portland on Saturday.

After jetting up to a tie for third place in the West Coast Conference, the men’s basketball team now finds itself sitting in seventh after a four-game losing streak since their win over Pepperdine University on Jan. 24.

Against Gonzaga, sophomore Jared Brownridge scored 25 points and the Broncos were up on the Bulldogs going into halftime, a feat only one other team has accomplished this season.

The Broncos built a 36-34 lead at the half thanks to 10 uncharacteristic turnovers from the Zags.

The Ruff Riders made their biggest contribution of the season, cheering loudly to lift Santa Clara’s efforts and performance.

“When it’s crowded in here, we definitely feed off the energy,” Brownridge said. “We were ready to go. Now we just got to try to push it and get these fans here every night.”

They would go up by six points, thanks to a Brandon Clark 3-pointer about two minutes into the second half, but then the Zags fought back.

Gonzaga star guard Kevin Pangos hit his first and only shot at about 14:30 to tie the game at 47, and then the Bulldogs went on a 13-3 run to extend their lead to 60-50 with nine minutes left.

The senior, averaging 12.1 points per game, only made one field goal and finished with five points in the game.

“We didn’t lose Pangos, we didn’t give up one offensive rebound and we had one turnover (in the first half),” said Head Coach Kerry Keating. “It’s something that’s hard to swallow when you get that close to a team like that.”

The Broncos only had one turnover at halftime, but amassed six costly turnovers in the second that led to a 22-6 run by the Zags after the Broncos went up by six.

“The margin of error against any team that’s young and inexperienced and searching, as we have been since Yannick (Atanga) went out, has been very slim,” Keating said.

The Bulldogs went on to win 77-63 and shot a season-best 69 percent in the game.

“They’re a good team,” Brownridge said. “Give them the respect that they deserve, but we took them right to the end of the game, and we’ve done that before in the previous years, so you know, we’ll have our chance in the playoffs.”

The Broncos moved on to Portland on Saturday after what Keating called an “emotional high” of coming so close to an upset on Thursday.

The student and fan turnout wasn’t as big as the previous game and the Broncos were behind the entire game.

The Pilots led from an opening 3-pointer, part of a hot 7-7 start from long range, and never trailed in the game.

Santa Clara cut the deficit to 13 late in the first half, but the Pilots hit a deflating 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend the lead to 42-26 at half.

With about nine minutes left, the Broncos got within nine points on a Brownridge three, but then Santa Clara failed to score for about five and a half minutes.

Clark led the team with 18 points and three assists and Brownridge added 10 points.Portland shot 75 percent in the first half and 61.9 percent in the game, two days after the Broncos gave up 66.7 percent to Gonzaga in the first half and 71.4 percent in the second.

“Our defense has not been good because we have no emotional investment from a single leader on the floor to be able to hold other guys accountable,” Keating said. “And (for) a lot of young guys out there playing ‘D,’ it’s hard, and someone’s got to take it on themselves to hold guys accountable on defense from an effort and communication standpoint.”

The final score was 74-54 Portland, and Keating acknowledged that playing from behind all game takes its toll.

“We put ourselves in a tough spot to dig ourselves out of and paid the price,” he said.

The Broncos face the University of San Francisco on the road tonight at 8 p.m.

The team has had four days to rest following the two tough losses.

There are only five games left in the regular season before the WCC tournament.

“We just need to … get ready to go to war,” Keating said.

Contact Tyler Scott at tscott@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.