Easy, breezy Gaels
By Matthew Cucuzza
Guard Kevin Foster spent Friday night and Saturday afternoon attached to an IV, napping and vomiting after contracting food poisoning from a sausage muffin.
The freshman then spent his Saturday night playing perhaps the game of his life.
Foster was perfect from the field in the first half, scoring a game-high 26 points, to propel the Broncos to a convincing 70-52 win over Saint Mary's in front of a packed house at the Leavey Center.
"The last thing I told (Kevin) before he walked out of practice was that this was going to be a potential defining moment in his career," said head coach Kerry Keating.
Foster missed Santa Clara's pre-game shoot-around on Saturday and awoke at 5:30 p.m. The game began at 8 p.m.
"The first part of the game was tough because I couldn't really breathe," said Foster. "I wanted to play this game so bad I was going to play through it anyway. I didn't want to let the team down."
He did not miss a shot from the field until 2:28 of the second half.
Santa Clara center John Bryant posted his 19th double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds. He remains one behind Oklahoma's Blake Griffin, who notched his 20th double-double of the season Saturday night against Colorado.
Bryant also surpassed Kurt Rambis '80 for second on Santa Clara's all-time rebound list and is now fifth among all active NCAA players in career rebounds with 1,043. Bryant is only 92 rebounds behind Dennis Awtrey's Santa Clara record.
"What John's doing is certainly worthy of a lot of individual accolades," said Keating.
Bryant fell awkwardly in the first half, aggravating an ankle sprain. The 6-foot-11 senior had his ankle taped at half time and shook off the pain, scoring 9 straight points in the second half to push the game out of reach for Saint Mary's.
After the final buzzer, Bryant ran over to the rowdy student section and offered high fives before the students stormed the court in celebration of the win over the long-time rival.
Saint Mary's was without leading scorer Patrick Mills, who missed his fourth consecutive game after suffering a broken right hand during the Gaels' game against Gonzaga on Jan. 29. The reigning West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year had surgery Wednesday to insert a screw into his broken hand and will miss four to six weeks of play.
Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said Mills' absence affects all aspects of the Gaels' game.
"We're changing as a team a little bit," said Bennett. "(Santa Clara) gave us some problems inside. Our guys are going to have to step up and make some shots from the perimeter."
The Gaels are now 1-4 without Mills, including the game in which the Aussie star was injured.
Saint Mary's struggled to establish their offense, shooting 35.3 percent from the field. The Broncos shot 58.5 percent from the field and were 6-for-10 on 3-pointers.
Foster scored a season-high 31 points in Santa Clara's 63-62 loss at Saint Mary's on Jan. 9, when Mills hit the game-winning shot in that game's waning seconds.
Bennett said Foster was their primary focus in preparing for Saturday night's game.
"He's a really good shooter," said Bennett of Foster. "For him to be a freshman playing at that level is impressive."
Diamon Simpson led the Gaels with 11 points. Omar Samhan collected his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 15 rebounds, nine of which were on the offensive boards.
Saint Mary's will next play No. 21 Gonzaga on Feb. 12 at 8 p.m at home.
The Broncos will enjoy several days off before hitting the road for a three-game trip that kicks off Thursday, Feb. 12 at Pepperdine. Their final games of the regular season will be at home against Gonzaga on Feb. 26 and Portland on Feb. 28.
Contact Matthew Cucuzza at (408) 551-1918 or mcucuzza@scu.edu.