Santa Clara University’s men’s basketball team was defeated by Saint Mary’s, 86-67, on Saturday night in Moraga. This loss marks the Broncos’ third defeat in West Coast Conference play and drops them to a 14-3 record within the conference. The Gaels extended their home winning streak to 25 games with this result.
Allen Graves led Santa Clara with 20 points, his second-highest scoring output of the season. Christian Hammond added 11 points for the Broncos.
Saint Mary’s started strong with an 11-2 run, including two three-pointers from Joshua Dent, prompting an early timeout from Santa Clara. The Broncos responded with an 8-0 run but only briefly took the lead before Saint Mary’s regained control late in the first half. Theirry Darlan gave Santa Clara a six-point advantage midway through the opening period, but a 13-2 run by Saint Mary’s put them ahead at halftime, 42-36.
The Broncos shot 41 percent in the first half and trailed at halftime for just the fifth time this season. In contrast, Saint Mary’s shot 48 percent and secured 15 second-chance points off of offensive rebounds.
In the second half, Saint Mary’s extended their lead to as much as 23 points late in the game. The Gaels were effective from beyond the arc, making six of eleven three-point attempts after halftime and finishing with a shooting percentage of nearly 50 percent overall. They also dominated on the boards, out-rebounding Santa Clara by a margin of 51 to 21.
Graves reached double figures for the 21st time this season and led his team with six rebounds and two steals. Hammond recorded his team-best 25th game in double-digit scoring. With this game, Santa Clara moved into second place all-time for single-season steals at the school with a total of 281.
Santa Clara will finish its regular season on Saturday, February 28th at home against Oregon State. Before tip-off, which is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on CBS Sports Network, four seniors—Brenton Knapper, Elijah Mahi, Malachi Douyon and Brendan Yarusso—will be honored during a pregame ceremony.
