Men's basketball splits in L.A.

By Jack Ferdon

This is not how Santa Clara wanted to enter the West Coast Conference Tournament.

In their final regular season game last Saturday in Malibu, Santa Clara was crushed by Pepperdine, 96-58. The 38-point margin marked the worst loss in school history to a conference foe.

The Waves (20-7, 13-1) went crazy from beyond the arc, hitting 17-of-27 three-pointers. Guard Devin Montgomery led the barrage as he nailed all six of his long distance tries en route to a 26-point night. WCC Freshman of the Year Terrance Johnson poured in four more threes and finished with 14 points and seven assists.

Santa Clara (13-14, 8-6) was also hurt by Pepperdine's high-pressure defense, which caused 21 Bronco giveaways and led to 20 points off turnovers for the Waves.

The game was reasonably close late in the first half when senior David Emslie's basket capped a 12-point Santa Clara run and moved the Broncos to within eight, but Pepperdine outscored them 57-27 the rest of the way.

"We were flat out beat in every aspect of the game," Head Coach Dick Davey said.

The loss is especially discouraging for Santa Clara's postseason hopes because of the game's playoff-like importance. Pepperdine needed to win to stay tied with Gonzaga for the conference lead. Likewise, the Broncos needed to win to be assured of the third seed in the conference tournament.

Santa Clara had taken a one-game lead over USF the night before with a 67-59 defeat of Loyola Marymount in which both sophomore Kyle Bailey and senior Steve Ross scored 20 points each. But with USF playing their final game against Portland, Santa Clara knew it would have to win to keep its lead. But lost by 38.

As it turned out, the Broncos won the No. 3 seed anyway on a coin toss and will face St. Mary's in the first round of the WCC tournament on Saturday at San Diego. While the Broncos beat the Gaels twice during the regular season, St. Mary's has been playing well throughout February. In the past month, they have blown out Portland and Loyola Marymount, scored a close victory over San Diego, and nearly beat the Torreros again on the road.

"I think defensively St. Mary's is as tough as anyone in the league," Davey said. "It's usually going to be a 60-point game with them so you have to be more efficient."

The Gaels will be without their leading scorer, Paul Marigney, who has a torn ACL. But the Broncos might offset this with injuries of their own. In the past week, Ross has come down with the flu, Emslie's chronic back problems flared up again, and senior Justin Holbrook needed a cortisone shot in his stomach.

If Santa Clara gets past St. Mary's, they will probably face Gonzaga, currently ranked No. 7 in the nation. Gonzaga is seeded No. 2 in the tournament after losing their coin toss with Pepperdine.

For the Broncos to win the conference title and go into the NCAA tournament, they must first beat a tough St. Mary's squad, then the No. 7 team in the nation, and then, most likely, a Pepperdine team that beat them by 38 just a week ago.

It won't be easy, but Davey has confidence in his team.

"I think if we're healthy then we have a good shot at winning some games (in the tournament)," Davey said.