Men win 1 of 2 over weekend

By Chris Furnari

Loyola Marymount 74, Santa Clara 71

The Broncos fought their way back from a 14-point first half deficit, but the hole was too much to overcome, as they dropped a 74-71 decision to visiting Loyola Marymount on Saturday.

The Lions, previously winless in conference play, hung tough the entire match and improved their conference record to 1-5.

"It's been a long time coming," said LMU head coach Rodney Tention. "The win puts a smile on our faces, and it gives us more confidence."

Midway through the second half, the Broncos took their first lead of the game behind a pair of threes from Joey Kaempf and Mitch Henke. The Broncos failed to hold onto the lead, however, as LMU crept back in the final minutes of the game.

With 27 seconds left to play, junior guard Brody Angley connected from behind the arc to pull the Broncos within one. After two missed free throws by the Lions' Adoyah Miller, the Broncos had a chance to win.

Joey Kaempf found himself open but missed a three-point attempt off of the inbound play, leaving eight seconds on the clock.

"Joey wasn't our first option," said Head Coach Dick Davey. "We wanted the ball down low, but he got an open look, and it just missed."

Max Craig pulled the rebound down for Loyola Marymount and was immediately fouled. He missed his first free throw attempt but connected on his second. The Broncos had another chance, but a driving Angley missed an off-balance jumper in the key.

Santa Clara was led by Danny Pariseau's 14 points and 13 points by Scott Dougherty, who also added seven rebounds. Pariseau fouled out of the game with 2:04 left to play on a questionable call that had Bronco fans howling.

"I thought I had the steal and was on my way to an easy lay-up," said Pariseau.

Bronco Center John Bryant did not start due to bronchitis, but added 12 points. Santa Clara committed 18 turnovers and shot 11 for 20 from the free throw line.

Santa Clara 77, Pepperdine 55

If there was any question about the strength of Santa Clara basketball after a disappointing loss to LMU, it's nonexistent. The Broncos rallied back from the loss to defeat the Pepperdine Waves 77-55 on Monday evening.

"We came out of the gates pretty hot," said senior forward Scott Dougherty. "It was really nice to come out and lead from the get-go."

The Broncos led by as many as 11 in the first half and didn't stop there. Santa Clara came out in the second half, guns blazing, and extended their lead to 16 in the first two minutes of play. The deficit would be too much for visiting Pepperdine to overcome.

"I told them, 'hey, let's put the gas on in the first half,' " said Davey. "But in the second half I wanted to continue playing the game like we played it."

The Broncos heeded the message of their coach and didn't let up, out-scoring the Waves 43-32 in the second half of play.

As expected, the Waves came out in a full court press right from the tip-off. The Broncos, however, jumped out to an early 7-3 lead in the opening minutes.

"I thought we handled their press reasonably well," said Davey. "There were a couple times that we broke down, but overall it was a good effort."

The Broncos had six players in double figures led by Scott Dougherty. Dougherty scored 14 points and knocked down three shots from behind the arc in the first half alone. Senior Danny Pariseau added 10 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win.

"We have been waiting for it for a while, to have everyone catch fire at one time," said Dougherty.

Dougherty pointed to the loss versus LMU as a reason for the outstanding shooting.

"I think the loss was maybe a wake-up call," said Dougherty. "But it's nice to see us shoot in the game the way we shoot in practice."

The Broncos shot 55.8 percent from the field in the first half and 52.2 percent from behind the arc, putting together one of their most complete games of the season.

"We have had some good games," said Davey. "But this is definitely up there as one of our best."

The win marked the first time the Broncos have reached 15 wins in January since 1983. Santa Clara will face St. Mary's next Saturday, in Moraga, at 4:05 p.m.

Contact Chris Furnari at (408) 551-1918 or cfurnari@scu.edu.