CBI Championship Series Recap: Santa Clara Falls Short to Patriots in Game Two

February 16, 2012; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Santa Clara Broncos forward Raymond Cowels III (42) takes a technical free throw against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the second half at Leavey Center. The Gonzaga Bulldogs defeated the Santa Clara Broncos 73-62. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

After an impressive offensive performance in game one, the Broncos followed it up on Wednesday with more of a lackluster performance in game two, especially in the first half. The Broncos leading scorer and most dynamic play maker, Kevin Foster, only had 2 points in the entire first half. That pretty much sums it up for Santa Clara. The Broncos were only able to put up 26 points the whole first half.

It wasn’t just Foster who struggled to score, it was the whole Santa Clara squad for the most part. Foster, Trasolini, and Roquemore combined to go 12 for 37 (32.4%) and 3 of 15 from downtown (20.0%). This is simply not the type of production that is going to win ballgames.

On the George Mason side of things, the Patriots looked much better in the second game of the series as opposed to the first. A good reason for this change was the play of Sherrod Wright. Wright was a disappointment in game one with only three points on 0 of 6 shooting. However, in game two, Wright had 20 points, which included 11 free throws made off 17 free throws attempted. The junior guard also had 10 rebounds in the contest to complete the criteria for a double-double. Byron Allen had 15 and Erik Copes had 10 as well for the Patriots.

George Mason appeared much more comfortable on the defensive side of things as well. After losing on the road, the Patriots most likely deciphered the game film and found a way to more effectively shut down the likes of Kevin Foster and company. In the first match up, George Mason used a decent amount of full court pressure, which worked terribly. In game two, they abandoned the full court pressure and took a different approach. Every time a Bronco player would try and set a screen for Foster, two George Mason defenders would instantly double team him and force him to give up the basketball. Foster was bothered by this the entire game and found absolutely zero offensive rhythm all night long.

The Santa Clara Broncos will square off with the George Mason Patriots on Friday in the series finale for a chance to claim the CBI Championship trophy. The game will be played at 4 PM PT at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.