Sloppy play, missed opportunities doom Broncos

By Nicholas Pinkerton

The Broncos' five-game winning streak against San Jose State was snapped Monday night, as the Spartans defeated Santa Clara 62-59.

Playing in front of a raucous Leavey Center crowd of over 1,000, the Broncos failed to control the tempo of the game and found themselves playing from behind for nearly all 40 minutes.

Santa Clara struggled throughout the game, committing costly turnovers and surrendering 14 offensive rebounds. Head Coach Kerry Keating was not pleased with the team's performance in offense and defense.

"Once again, more than 12 turnovers, and we got out-rebounded," he said. "That's the biggest difference in the game, especially when it comes down to a one-possession game, which it turned into tonight."

The Broncos shot the ball poorly and passed up many open shot opportunities.

They shot 40 percent from the floor, almost 10 percent less than their season average, and converted only seven of their 26 three-point shots.

Santa Clara's subpar performance began at the first whistle, as their lack of ball control resulted in a quick 18-11 deficit.

San Jose State continued to extended its lead with consistent shooting from guard DaShawn Wright. With six and a half minutes remaining in the first half, the Spartans had pushed the margin to 11 points.

The Broncos cut the lead to as little as four points, but the Spartans held off the Santa Clara attack, leading 32-25 at halftime.

In the first half alone, the Broncos committed eight turnovers and only converted on three of 13 shots from beyond the arc.

In the second half, the Broncos got back in the contest by going on a 9-2 run, with six quick points from center John Bryant.

San Jose State pushed their lead to six points with over 14 minutes remaining in the half, but the back-and-forth battle took on another level of intensity when Broncos forward Ben Dowdell swiped the ball from the Spartans and took it down the court for a slam dunk.

Down by four, the Broncos were poised to take the lead, and a three-pointer by Mitch Henke put the Broncos ahead for the first time. Henke sunk another shot shortly after to put the Broncos up by three.

Led by the clutch shooting of DaShawn Wright, the Spartans retook the lead and never looked back, as the Broncos fell behind 56-51 with a little over two minutes to go.

The Broncos (8-7) lost their fourth game of six points or less, a statistic that upsets Keating.

"We keep putting ourselves in position to lose our fourth game by two or one possessions, and that's really disappointing," he said.

The Broncos begin conference play at Saint Mary's on Saturday. Their first conference home game is on Jan. 19 against Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m.

Contact Nicholas Pinkerton at (408) 551-1918 or npinkerton@scu.edu.