BYU Bests Broncos in Leavey

By Ryan Mahoney

 The Broncos fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit to tie the game midway through the second half, but then immediately allowed the Cougars to score 18 straight points to put the game away.            

The Broncos have only won one of their last 22 WCC games. The latest installment featured a characteristic that is becoming a common theme; Santa Clara hung tough against a solid opponent before going cold and dropping the game in the second half.

"We let negative energy get the best of us," said senior forward Marc Trasolini. "Something we pride ourselves on is bringing positive energy and we did a horrible job of that, and it's something we really need to work on for next week."

Kevin Foster once again led the Broncos in scoring with 22 points. Foster was coming off a bad shooting night against Loyola Marymount University, where he scored a mediocre 11 points, including a 3-15 performance from behind the arc.

Raymond Cowels provided an early spark for the Broncos, connecting on his first three three-point attempts. He would later add one more triple, finishing the game with 14 points. Trasolini added 17 points to what was otherwise a tough game for the Broncos offensively. He also pulled down 14 rebounds.  

Tyler Haws was the game's leading scorer with 24 points. The 6-5 guard out of Alpine, Utah has become a leader for the Cougars this season, who at 4-1 in the WCC, figures to be a challenge to Gonzaga University and Saint Mary's College at the top of the league.

Santa Clara thundered back into the contest after trailing at the half, thanks in no small part to Kevin Foster, who scored 11 points including three 3-point baskets in the first three minutes of the second half. Foster made one of two free throws to tie the contest at 50-50 with 13:37 remaining. After that, however, Santa Clara failed to score for seven minutes while BYU scored 18 points. The 68-50 hole was too much for the Broncos who never threatened a serious comeback.

"We just didn't respond to the run," said Foster, who became the conference's all time leading 3-point shooter during the game. "Basketball is always a game of runs, and we didn't respond. They went on a run and we could never catch back up. They're a good team. We give all the credit to them."

The Broncos turned the ball over 15 times in the contest.

"There's no particular reason for it," Foster said. "We just have to make sure we're valuing the ball. Every possession is big. A lost possession becomes a possession that they can score on. They put up 82 points and that won't be a winning number for us."

Santa Clara falls to 1-3 in conference with the loss. That record may sound worse than it really is, as the Broncos have played two of the league's top three teams. Still, three losses in the first four contests do not bode well for the team's chances at a solid finish in the conference. Having nearly blown a 19-point lead in their only WCC win this season, Santa Clara is dangerously close to sitting at the bottom of the conference following last year's 0-18 campaign.

Santa Clara will face the University of San Francisco on the road tonight. USF is Santa Clara's oldest basketball rival, with the two teams having played over 200 times. Santa Clara won the last match-up earlier this year at home, 74-69. 

Contact Ryan Mahoney at rmahoney@scu.edu or call (408) 554-4852.