Santa Clara survives late surge by Pepperdine

Things look to be getting better for Santa Clara.

Jared Brownridge and Brandon Clark each scored 13 points for the Broncos, as Santa Clara held on to beat Pepperdine 60-57.

Pepperdine (12-8, 5-4 WCC) took their first and only lead of the game with a free throw at the 17:45 mark of the first half. From that point on, Santa Clara (11-10, 5-4 WCC) made several runs in the first half to build a 35-24 lead at halftime.

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The Broncos continued to hold a double-digit lead over the Waves for the first ten minutes of the second half. After the under eight media timeout, Pepperdine went on a 7-2 run and trailed 53-51 with 5:08 left. Both teams continued to trade baskets until the 1:35 mark, when Jeremy Major made a layup for Pepperdine to pull within two.

Both teams would go scoreless until Clark was fouled with 16 seconds left. Clark, an 86% free-throw shooter, made both free throws to give Santa Clara a 59-55 lead.

Stacy Davis responded with a jumper for the Waves, who were down 59-57 with six seconds left. Pepperdine immediately fouled Clark out of the timeout.

With a 59-57 lead, Clark missed his first free throw of the night. He made the second to give the Broncos a 60-57 lead with five seconds remaining. Kerry Keating’s decision not to foul turned out to be good as Jeremy Major missed the three-point jumper for Pepperdine as the clock expired, giving Santa Clara the 60-57 victory.

STATS AND TIP-INS

Santa Clara’s bench outscored Pepperdine’s bench 39-8, as Pepperdine went 0-11 from behind the arc. Santa Clara also edged Pepperdine 30-28 on the boards.

With BYU’s loss at San Diego on Saturday, Pepperdine and Santa Clara join BYU in a three-way tie for third place. The win gives Santa Clara their fourth consecutive victory.

WHAT’S NEXT

On Thursday, San Diego hosts Santa Clara, while Pacific hosts Pepperdine.

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Santa Clara survives late surge by Pepperdine, wins fourth straight

By Robert Perry | Jan 25, 2015