Despite Solid Start, UNLV Knocks Off Santa Clara 92-69

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

Despite a promising first half, Santa Clara lost to UNLV by a score of 92-69.

Santa Clara kept up with the Rebels, and even held a brief lead towards the end of the first half. However, things went sour at the end of the half and it spilled over into the second. UNLV’s 14-4 run gave the Runnin’ Rebs a solid lead at halftime. The Rebels then went on to outscore the Broncos 45-31 to shut down the prospect of an upset. Led

Freshman Jared Brownridge had another stellar night for the Broncos. His 22 points led all scorers. Jerry Brown and John McArthur controlled the glass for Santa Clara, grabbing 5 apiece.

Evan Roquemore had a rough night for the Broncos, turning over the ball 4 times while only distributing 3 assists. The Broncos need him to do a better job as a facilitator and to take better care of the ball in conference play.

Adding on to Roquemore’s struggles tonight, he and fellow Bronco guard Brandon Clark combined to score 23 points on only 7 of 25 shooting.

For UNLV, the Rebels were led by Deville Smith, who scored 21 points, grabbed 4 rebounds and dished out 5 assists. Roscoe Smith, Khem Birch, Bryce Dejean-Jones and Jelan Kendrick all finished in double digits as well for the Rebels.

Stat of the Game

No other explanation needed.

Player of the Game

Jared Brownridge – 22 points, 3 of 6 shooting from 3, 1 assist and 1 steal.

Keys to the Game Checklist

Guard Play – X

Aside from Brownridge, the Santa Clara backcourt did not show up tonight.

Combined Stats of Brownridge, Clark and Roquemore tonight: FG% – 32.5%, 45 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 8 turnovers. Not going to cut it.

Spread the Court – ?

Due to the game not being televised, I was not able to watch the game as anticipated. So, this key is really a question mark. Based on the final score, I would guess the Broncos didn’t spread the court that well.

The Bottom Line

Santa Clara ran into an always talented UNLV team, and fell short when the going got tough.

However, the panic button should not be pressed on this Santa Clara season. The Broncos have displayed some good talent this year which hasn’t quite fully meshed together yet. Besides, conference play has not even started yet.