Web update: Bryant breaks record in win over Pilots

By Justin Phan

John Bryant cemented his place amongst the Santa Clara greats as he led the Broncos to a thrilling 67-65 overtime victory over Portland in his final game at the Leavey Center Saturday.

Bryant scored 22 points and grabbed 21 rebounds for his 14th straight double-double of the season. It was his fifth game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

With his 21-rebound effort, Bryant now holds sole possession of Santa Clara's single-season rebounding record with 430, surpassing Dennis Awtrey's previous record of 409 set during the 1969-1970 season. "Everybody can make a shot. Everyone can throw a ball in a basket," head coach Kerry Keating said. "Not everybody can block out, defend and rebound. That takes effort and determination and I'm really appreciative of John's effort for that and I'm really proud of that."

Bryant is 20 rebounds from tying Awtrey's career school record of 1,135 boards.

With Saturday's win, the Broncos have clinched the fourth seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament and have also earned a first-round bye.

Portland came out with an aggressive 3-2 zone which stymied Santa Clara early on. During the first half, the Pilots held freshman Kevin Foster to just two points and 0-of-7 shooting from the field while limiting Bryant to just six points and four rebounds.

Santa Clara went into halftime trailing 24-28.

"We just tried to hold, hang in there and battle against Big John," said Portland head coach Eric Reveno.

Despite his first half struggles, Bryant came out rejuvenated in the second half.

"I definitely just went into halftime and put it in my head that it was senior day and I just didn't want to lose," said Bryant. "It wasn't going to be happening on my watch and Calvin's too."

Bryant came up big in the second half, scoring seven of his 11 points during an important three-minute stretch that cut the Pilots' lead from eight points to just one.

Santa Clara had a chance to end the game in regulation but a missed 3-point attempt by Foster and a missed floater by James Rahon sent the game into overtime.

While Bryant continued to assert himself in the paint and on the glass, it was sophomore Michael Santos who proved to be the difference maker for Santa Clara in the end.

Santos made a crucial layup to tie the game up at 61-61 then took a charge on the other end. Later in the overtime period, Santos forced a jumpball which gave the Broncos the ball up 63-61 with 41.1 seconds left in the game.

"Michael made a smart play at the end like he should, paying attention with the steal and paying attention to the detail on the scouting report," Keating said. "Even though he had some bad turnovers I trust him on the defensive end and that's why he was in the game."

Santa Clara will play the winner of the first round matchup between San Diego and LMU on March 7 at 6 p.m.

BRONCOS NOTEBOOK:By Cecile Nguyen

John Bryant was named West Coast Conference Player of the Year Monday and becomes the 11th Bronco to earn that distinction. He leads the nation in double-doubles with 23, rebounds per game (13.9) and total rebounds. Bryant was also named to the All-WCC First Team for the second consecutive year. The center started in all 31 games this year and averaged 18.0 ppg.

"I am surprised, really surprised. It doesn't get any better than winning player of the year in your conference your senior," said Bryant in a statement. "It's especially an honor in a conference like this that is growing and getting better every year. There are some terrific players in the WCC including Patty Mills, Diamon Simpson, Josh Heytvelt, Jeremy Pargo, Matt Bouldin, Nik Raivio, Austin Daye, Dior Lowhorn - there is a long list."

Kevin Foster becomes the seventh Bronco to earn WCC's Co-Newcomer of the Year, sharing the honor with TJ Campbell of Portland. The guard leads all WCC freshmen with 14.5 ppg was also an All-WCC Honorable Mention. James Rahon and Marc Trasolini, along with Foster, were also named to the All-WCC Freshman team.

"Both Kevin Foster and TJ Campbell (Portland) obviously had a huge impact on their teams and their successes this season and we salute them," Keating said Monday. "Kevin worked extremely hard to get better this season and was able to produce consistently to be able to earn the Newcomer of the Year. All of these post-season honors for our entire team are indicative of our goals at working to make our team better and hopefully we will continue to provide the foundation we need for future success."