Santa Clara Game Recap: Broncos Lose Close Matchup Vs. NDSU
By Josh Horton
Nov 22, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; Santa Clara Broncos forward Yannick Atanga (44) returns to the bench in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 84-69. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Santa Clara dropped its first game in the Cable Car Classic, a tournament that they host, to North Dakota State by a score of 91 to 85.
With 22.7 seconds left, despite trailing most the game the Broncos had a chance to take the lead after they were only trailing by 2 points. With the score at 85-83, North Dakota State guard Taylor Braun sunk 2 free throws to extend the Bison lead to 4.
Clark then drew a foul, and hit two free throws of his own to bring the deficit back to 2. With 12.0 seconds on the clock, Braun went back to the line and hit 2 free throws to extend the lead back to 4.
Broncos freshman Jared Brownridge then took a three on the left wing that fell short. Senior forward Yannick Atanga then grabbed the rebound, and then kicked it back out to the left wing to Brownridge, who shot another three, but it was blocked. Taylor Braun was then sent to the free throw line yet again to put the final dagger in Santa Clara. Braun subsequently hit both free throws and the Broncos fell to the Bison by 6 points.
Braun did not have the best shooting night (1-9), but scored 21 points, partly due to being 19-19 from the charity stripe. His clutch shooting from the free throw line was a big reason as to why the Bison were able to solidify a victory in this contest.
As a whole, the Bison had 6 players in double-figures, with Braun scoring the most with 21. Lawerence Alexander had 15 points, as well as reserve Mike Felt. Marshall Bjorkland and Alexander led the Bison in rebounding with 8.
For the Broncos, Brandon Clark scored 32 to points to account for 37.6% of the Broncos points. Jerry Brown and Nate Kratch controlled the boards for Santa Clara by pulling down 5 apiece. Roquemore had a nice game back in the starting lineup by dishing out 7 assists and only turning the ball over once.
Stat of the Night
Brandon Clark had 32 points tonight, continuing on his streak of 20 point games against division 1 opponents (he did not score a point against Bethesda). In his freshman and sophomore season, Clark did not score over 20 points once. Clark has done it 4 times this season already.
Keys to the Game Checklist
Integrate the Star
Evan Roquemore had 11 points, 3 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in the loss. This was a solid performance from the senior point guard, and should be a sign for good things to come. The Broncos need their senior floor general in order to be successful in the WCC this season.