Bronco Briefs

By Brian Betz

Men's Basketball

Santa Clara 67, San Diego 65

The men's squad opened up West Coast Conference play this past Saturday night at San Diego without the services of junior All-WCC point guard Kyle Bailey, who is out for the rest of the year due to an ailing back.

In spite of the many injuries that have plagued the Broncos so far this season, they squeaked out a 67-65 win behind freshman guard Brandon Rohe's game-high 20-point performance.

Rohe, who has led the team in scoring all year, hit on all five of his field-goal attempts in the second half en route to chalking up 14 in the final 20 minutes. Junior guard Ethan Rohde chipped in nine while sophomore guard Bakari Altheimer returned from injury to pitch in seven.

Though very early in league play, Santa Clara stands atop the WCC with a 10-4 record, reflective of Head Coach Dick Davey's efforts that earned him Mid-Season Coach of the Year honors by CollegeInsider.com.

Davey is in his 11th season as coach of the Broncos and ranks as the winningest active WCC coach. He is looking to take his team to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1996.

The team will head south again this weekend. They play perennial powerhouse Pepperdine on Friday before taking on Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

Women's Basketball

Santa Clara 77, San Diego 45

The women kept pace with the success that the men have experienced as they opened up their WCC season at home this past Saturday with a 77-43 annihilation of San Diego.

The win extends their current win streak to five and improves their overall record to 10-4. Four players finished in double figures, led by reserve sophomore guard Megan Nelson who scored a career-high 15 in the victory.

Senior forward Kendra Rhea registered a double-double in points (12) and rebounds (13), while sophomore guard Quinn Thomas dished out eight assists.

The stellar defensive play of the Broncos kept any Torero from reaching double figures. Santa Clara has now won 34 of its last 36 home WCC games dating back five years and has not lost to the Toreros at home since 1989.

The women will continue WCC home play with two more games at the Leavey Center this week, the first against Pepperdine on Thursday at 7 p.m. and the second against Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 7 p.m.