Struggling, but showing signs of life

By Gabe Taylor

A strong first half against the University of San Diego on Friday night and an energized second half against St. Mary's on Sunday would have provided an entire game of concrete play for Santa Clara had they been compressed together.

However, the team struggled to keep the momentum for all 40 minutes in both games, resulting in two losses to open up WCC play.

When Santa Clara entered the court on Friday night to play host to USD, the crowd and the players were ignited.

The Broncos' intensity in the first half only matched that of the 1000-plus screaming students crammed in the stands after freshman forward Niyi Harrison opened the game with a breakaway layup off of the tip.

The high level of energy died down after the first ten minutes; soon after, Santa Clara was in a six-minute scoring drought. Nevertheless, they retained a 22-19 lead going into the half.

San Diego's zone defense gave Santa Clara trouble in the second half, as the team shot just under 27 percent from the field. In addition, the lack of defensive aggression by the Broncos was a major catalyst for their downward spiral.

"That happened to us during the whole month of December -- in the second half with a lead or with a one-possession game," said Head Coach Kerry Keating regarding the team's defensive struggles. The Toreros exploded for 36 points in the second half.

"What we need to do is take more of a pride out there in playing," said junior Michael Santos, commenting on the necessity of consistency. Santos led the team in scoring with 12 points.

The Toreros came into the game only 1-6 when their opponents score first, but the Broncos were unable to capitalize on their momentum early in the game.

Sophomore forward Marc Trasolini, who has picked up the slack on offense following Kevin Foster's injury, was held scoreless in the contest.

The Broncos had trouble matching up with the size and agility of San Diego's De'Jon Jackson, who recorded a team-high 19 points on 7-11 shooting.

San Diego senior Brandon Johnson, who was named to the 2009-2010 All-WCC men's preseason, was held to only 1-9 shooting from the field; Johnson came into the game averaging 15.8 PPG.

Keating's frustration lay mainly within the team's 12 turnovers and lack of physicality when it came to the defensive end.

"Our guys need to toughen up and know that they need to get stops at the defensive end," he said.

Santos agreed with Keating when being asked about problem areas, primarily revolving around fundamentals.

"We do have a young team, but we're halfway through the season so nobody is a freshman anymore," he said. "There is no excuse for anyone on the team even though we have no seniors. We have to take it upon ourselves to hold each other accountable."

Despite the more fundamental issues on the court, one of the larger problems resides in not being able to turn to a team leader on the court at this time in the season.

"We need someone on the floor who has the capability to say and do the right things and take a leadership role," noted Keating. "I am trying to lessen that because I can't do that -- the coaches can't do that -- from the sideline."

When it came time to take the court against WCC conference leader St. Mary's on Sunday, the team was in desperate need for a leader to emerge. But the start was not one to Santa Clara's liking.

After establishing an early 13-12 lead, the Gaels embarked on a 10-0 run, putting the pressure on Santa Clara to stay in the game; the game looked as though it was slowly turning into a possible blowout.

Despite being down 41-27 at the half, the young team rallied behind junior Ben Dowdell, making a 13-5 run to open up the second half.

"Our effort was good, and that is something that a young team needs to understand -- that effort on a consistent basis can overcome a lot of mistakes," said Keating in a post-game press conference.

The Broncos shot nearly 54 percent from the field in the second half and finished shooting a respectable 45.9 percent for the game.

At one point in the half, Santa Clara knocked the Gaels lead down to 4, but three-point shooting and the stellar play of senior star Omar Samhan shot down the Bronco's hopes of an upset against the WCC leaders.

The Gaels improved to 15-2 overall, keeping their place in front of top-25 ranked Gonzaga (12-3).

Samhan went off for 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks, as the Broncos could not shutdown the 6-foot-11 center.

Keating started the game with a smaller lineup, but noticed that size differential played in favor of Saint Mary's.

Keating's focus on defense remains a key part of the team's style of play and is something the young team is learning to improve on.

After being held scoreless against San Deigo, Trasolini made his way back into the offense for Santa Clara, racking up 18 points alongside 9 boards.

"Coach really challenged me and I kind of took that as motivation," Trasolini said,

Freshman Robert Smith proved to be a threat to even a team as talented as St. Mary's. Despite the Gaels' ability to block shots, Smith was relentless, scoring a career-high 23 points on 7-14 shooting and 8-9 at the free throw line.

"It's helped my confidence out as well -- the confidence coach has in me," said Smith, "I'm starting to get a better feel for the game at this level."

Although turnovers proved to be a problem against San Diego, Santa Clara responded to Keating's message of taking care of the ball. The Broncos recorded seven turnovers, their best ball protection performance since Nov. 2, 2005 when they played UC Irvine.

"I am proud of our guys and look forward to continuing to battle with them knowing that we did take a step," said Keating, glad to see his team compete against a team that he believes should be nationally recognized.

"They are definitely a Sweet 16-calibur team with the talent that they have," he said.

"We've been in all these games and we've shown a propensity in stretches," Keating added. However, the third-year coach is hoping to see the stretches start to expand to every minute of the game.

"Our team is going to play hard no matter what the circumstances, to the very end. They've been doing that now in the times that we've had to fight back in the end of some games to try and get back," said Keating.

"They need to translate that and know that it's not a 37 or 36 or 30-minute game. It is a 40-minute game."

With the losses to San Diego and St. Mary's, Santa Clara is now 8-11 overall and 0-2 in WCC play.

The Broncos will travel on the road where they will face Pepperdine (5-12) at 8 p.m.; Santa Clara will look to put an end their three-game slide. The game will be televised on ESPN U.

Tom Schreier contributed to this article. Contact Gabe Taylor at gtaylor@scu.edu or (408) 551-1918.