Bukky Oboye ’28 dunks the basketball to put Santa Clara up 60-51 with 29 seconds left in their game against Saint Mary’s College of California at the Leavey Center on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Santa Clara University men’s basketball hosted rival Saint Mary’s at Leavey Center on Saturday, Jan. 17 in an exciting, back-and-forth matchup from start to finish.

The Broncos opened the game with a commanding 9-2 lead. Moments later, a 10-1 run pushed the advantage to 19-9 with under 10 minutes left in the first half. They maintained control and entered halftime ahead 32-25.

In the first half, Santa Clara shot 46% from the field, led by 11 points from Christian Hammond ’28. The Gaels shot just 31% and went 3-for-15 from the 3-point line.

The Broncos carried their momentum into the second half, starting with a 7-0 run and holding the Gaels scoreless for the first seven minutes.

Santa Clara extended the lead to 16 at 42-26 with less than 12 minutes remaining. However, with 11:16 left, the Gaels finally broke through and responded with a 12-0 run, cutting the Broncos’ lead down to 42-38 with under eight minutes to play.

Thierry Darlan ’27 ended the drought with a bucket, but Saint Mary’s immediately responded with a 3-pointer to make it a one-possession game.

The Broncos regained control with a jumper from Sash Gavalyugov ’29, followed by a steal and dunk from Bukky Oboye ’28, pushing the lead to 48-41 with just over five minutes remaining.

The Gaels fought back again, bringing the deficit to just 2 points at 50-48, but the Broncos answered with a jumper from Hammond and two key buckets by Allen Graves ’29.

“They kept their poise, they kept their composure, really didn’t see anybody even flinch,” said Coach Herb Sendek on the team’s success.

Oboye sealed the win with an explosive dunk in the final 30 seconds, stretching the lead to nine as the Leavey Center crowd erupted.

Attendance was 2,600, making it the highest-attended game at the Leavey Center this season. **(Nina Glick/The Santa Clara)**

Santa Clara finished the night shooting just 41 percent, but held Saint Mary’s to an even harsher 32 percent. The Gaels—the country’s leader in free-throw percentage—stumbled at the line, converting only 13 of 21 attempts. Neither team shot the basketball particularly well, resulting in a lower-scoring game than either typically produces.

“We had guys step up like Christian here and others and make plays. We didn’t try to reinvent ourselves for today’s game. We know when we play them, as everybody does, they’re very difficult to score against,” said Sendek.

The Broncos’ defense played a significant role, holding WCC leading scorer Paulius Murauskas to 12 points, though he still recorded a game-high 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Hammond delivered another impressive performance with 25 points, five rebounds, and a steal, earning WCC Player of the Game as well as WCC Player of the Week.

Graves finished in double figures for the 13th time this season and fifth straight with 11 points, along with a team-best eight rebounds. These accomplishments secured him WCC Freshman of the Week.

Santa Clara led wire-to-wire the entire game. Their 11-game win streak in Leavey Center is the program’s longest since winning 17 straight across the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons. They now sit at 7-1 in WCC play, trailing only Gonzaga.

The Broncos defeated the Gaels for the first time since February 2022, when Jalen Williams ’22 and the team beat the then-22nd-ranked Gaels 77-72 at home.

Next up: The Broncos head to San Diego for a rematch on Saturday, Jan 24 at 6:30 p.m., after defeating the Toreros 98-70 earlier this month.