Santa Clara men’s basketball entered the 2026-27 season with high expectations as the West Coast Conference preseason favorite in the annual coaches poll. Fresh off a 26-9 season (15-3 WCC) and their first NCAA Tournament appearance in three decades, the Broncos picked up right where they left off, with an 89-70 win over Towson in a first-time matchup between the two programs.
Monday night’s win moves them to 10-1 in home openers under head coach Herb Sendek.
“It’s always good to get the first one,” Sendek said. “I thought we did a lot of good things.”
The Broncos established a fast tempo early on, with fifth-year Elijah Mahi leading the scoring during the first 10 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, Sash Gavalyugov ’28 scored 14 of his 17 points in the opening half. Brad Longcor III ’29 added nine quick points in the first half in his college debut, helping Santa Clara take a 43-35 edge into halftime.
“It did feel a little weird at first, but then my teammates let me know everything is going to be fine,” Longcor III said about starting his first game after redshirting last year. “The coaches put me in the right spot.”
Santa Clara pressed hard in the second half. By the halfway point, the Broncos put together an explosive 20-point lead to close out an 89-70 victory.
“We were able to string some stops together and make some plays on the offensive end,” said Sendek.
The Broncos continued to execute on offense throughout the night, with 21 assists on 28 field goals while hitting 14 of 33 from 3-point range and shooting 86.4% at the free-throw line. Santa Clara also capitalized on 15 points off turnovers to maintain control down the stretch.
Six Broncos reached double-digit scoring in the team effort. Longcor III led all scorers with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists. David Castillo ’28 came off the bench with 14 points, while Fedor Zugic ’27 added 11 points. Mahi contributed 11 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals. Chris Tadjo ’28 added 10 points, a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks. Jake Ensminger ’27 tied Mahi with a team-high four assists.
Five Broncos made their college debuts and four played their first minutes in a Santa Clara uniform.
“We have a lot of new players and still have to get a lot better, but it’s early. We have the opportunity to learn and get better moving forward,” Sendek said.
Sendek emphasized that blending young players with experienced veterans is central to the team’s long-term success. “We have good young players and good older players in our program. It’s great to see them out there competing and performing.”
Longcor III stressed the importance of continuous improvement and execution as the season continues to unfold. “We pushed and transitioned pretty well; we’ve been focused on that. If we keep doing that and continuing to rebound, we’ll be a tough team to beat.”
The Broncos will return to the Leavey Center to face Milwaukee (0-1) at 7 p.m. PST on ESPN+ on Wednesday, Nov. 4.
“We’re going to come in with our same mentality, play our same way, and adjust to what they do,” Longcor III said.