Tag: Santa Clara Broncos

San Francisco Dons Fall to Santa Clara Broncos on their Senior Night, 94-73

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San Francisco Don guard (5) Tyrone Riley IV shoots a three-pointer in the second half at the War Memorial Gym at the Sobrato Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday. February 21st, 2026. (Photo credits to Michael Villanueva)

By Michael Villanueva

SAN FRANCISCO – After hosting the Gonzaga Bulldogs at the home of the Golden State Warriors, Chase Center, as a home game. The San Francisco Dons returned to the Hilltop for their last home game of the season to host the Santa Clara Broncos (22-6, 13-2 WCC). This game was also a farewell to their seniors graduating, as this was the Dons’ Senior Night. However, the Dons failed to get the win for them and their fans as they fell to SCU, 94-73. Santa Clara ends up with a season series sweep against San Francisco.

This regular-season home finale represented the 239th all-time matchup between San Francisco and Santa Clara, with the Broncos maintaining a slim 121–117 advantage in the series history. When the two teams first met on Jan. 28, Santa Clara erupted for 54 second-half points, pulling away from the Dons for an 88–73 win at the Leavey Center and claiming the early edge in the season series. After tonight, the all time series is a 5 win lead for Santa Clara as it’s now 122-117. The Broncos wanted to show the Bay Area and the city of San Francisco that they weren’t afraid, and they came to play.

During the last three seasons, the home team had won each of the last five games between USF and SCU, while the green and gold aimed to secure a third straight season-series split. Entering Saturday night with a 4–4 home record in conference play, the Dons aimed to preserve an eight-season streak of finishing with a winning home record in West Coast Conference action. The last time San Francisco posted a losing home record in league play came in 2015–16, when the Dons went 4–5 at home and 8–10 overall in WCC play.

San Francisco Dons started the game with guards Ryan Beasley, Tyrone Riley IV, Vukasin Masic, and forwards Guillermo Diaz Graham and Junjie Wang. Ryan Beasley leads the Dons with the most average points per game at 13.4 and with the most average assists per game at 3.9.

Santa Clara Bronoc started their five with Brenton Knapper, Christian Hammond, Elijah Mahi, Jake Ensminger, and Bukky Oboye. Christian Hammond leads the Broncos with the most average points per game at 16.4, and Jake Ensminger leads the most assists in a game at 3.0.

Right at tip-off, both sides of the teams’ fan section were on their feet as both teams’ first baskets were three-pointers. After that, both teams exchanged solid and fast buckets on each other, the Broncos’ defense was locked in as the Dons had 3 turnovers in 2 minutes after their hot start. Just as the Dons were slowly starting to find their way out of that early funk, Broncos Christian Hammond made 3 straight three pointers to push the Broncos to an early lead of 10 points, 34-24 in the first 10 minutes of play.

In the 1st half, both teams were shooting the ball well. The Dons and the Broncos are shooting above 52% in all of the categories. However, the Dons are leading the Broncos in turnovers as USF has 10 while SCU just has 4. In those 10 turnovers, the Broncos were able to put up 14 points off of those as SCU was able to control their lead, and so far, the game too.

At halftime, the Broncos are leading 44-38. Dons guard Ryan Beasley hits a half-court shot at the buzzer to get the crowd and the Dons’ spirit high going into the break. Both teams have already made 8 three pointers in the game, showing how badly these teams want to grab this win for their schools.

The second half showed some fire and fight in the Dons, but that spirit and determination weren’t enough for them to come back. The Broncos were all over the Dons, and at one point in the second half, they had a 22 point lead, which was their largest on the Dons in this game.

The Broncos’ presence in the paint on grabbing offensive and defensive rebounds was a challenge for the Dons to keep up with. Especially since the Dons kept adding turnovers by being careless with the ball at times, and were locked up by Santa Clara’s defense. The Broncos’ defense picked up 13 steals altogether and held the lead pretty much the whole game. The Dons only led for one minute.

Santa Clara wasn’t phased by being in the Dons’ home as they kept knocking down big shots that killed the Dons and their fans spirit. Especially the Broncos hitting 8 three’s in the first half. Santa Clara also had a 50-point second half for Santa Clara. The Broncos looked great from start to finish, and wanted this win to be a statement in this series between the two bay area schools.

The Broncos beat the Dons by 21 points in this game. Broncos Elijah Mahi led the Broncos as he had 30 points and 7 rebounds. For the Dons, Ryan Beasley led the way with his 22 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds. His efforts and attempts in this game weren’t enough for the Dons to come back from behind in their home.

The San Francisco Dons will head to the Central Valley area, in Stockton, to take on the Pacific Tigers in the final game of the season. That game will take place on February 28th, 2026, on CBS Sports Network in Stockton at the Alex G. Spanos Center. The Dons will also try to get a season series sweep against the Tigers as they won against them on January 31st, 2025, in the War Memorial gym at the Sobrato Center, final score was 87-82.

San Jose State Ends 2023 With A 81-78 Victory Against Santa Clara; Face Wyoming Jan 2nd

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Alvaro Cardenas (13) San Jose Spartans guard finished second in scoring with 14 against the Wyoming Cowboys at Provident Credit Union Event Arena in San Jose Wed Dec 20, 2023 (San Jose Spartans photo)

Wednesday, December 20th, 2023

By Troy Ewers

San Jose, CA – The San Jose State Spartans host the Santa Clara Broncos in a matchup between Silicon Valley schools. The Spartans are coming off their first home loss of the season, an 86-75 defeat to Montana Sunday afternoon. 

The first half for San Jose State was them clicking on all cylinders, 55% from the field. Tibet Gorener and Latrell Davis led the Sparatans with 10 points each with MJ Amey Jr. with nine. Meanwhile Santa Clara was led by Carlos Marshall Jr. who had 23 points, but that wasn’t enough to put them up at the half as the Brocos were trailing by three as the half ended with 42-39 SJSU. 

The second half started and the Spartans went right on the offensive. Santa Clara was on their heels all first half, so San Jose State needed to separate themselves from this hungry Broncos team if the Spartans were gonna walk out of the event center with a W.

The whole game it felt like Santa Clara was right there with SJSU, but that’s because they were. Four different players in double digits (Amey Jr, Davis, Gorener, and Cardenas) contributed to SJSU maintaining a lead, but the Broncos were always within a fighting distance.

The last minute they were tied at 76 a piece and after a Santa Clara three. Amey Jr. hit two free throws to take the lead and after a missed three from the Broncos, the Spartans had Adrame Diongue at the free throw line, not being that great from the line, he missed one and made one, putting SJSU up three with  12 seconds left.

Adama Bal scored a layup to put the Broncos within one and had to foul the Spartans again to regain possession, this time Alvaro Cardenas who hit both free throws to make their lead a three point lead. The final chance buzzer beater three for Santa Clara hit rim, but no success and the Spartans won 81-78.

Amey Jr. with 19 points and Cardenas with a double double are just one of the many reasons the Spartans left with the win, but they won this by playing their game both halves. 

Spartans got a feel-good win before the holiday break and got a well deserved break. Their next game will be in 2024, specifically January 2nd 2024 in Wyoming against Wyoming. The San Jose State Spartans look to start their next year with more success than they did, ending 2023 7-6.

Who are these guys? Cal shocks Santa Clara 84-69 at Haas Pavilion

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Jaylon Tyson (20) and Jalen Cone (15) guards for the Cal Bears both finished in the top two in scoring against the Santa Clara Broncos at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 2, 2023 (Cal Bears photo)

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2023

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Santa Clara Broncos 69 (7-2)

California Golden Bears 84 (3-5)

By Stephen Ruderman

Jaylon Tyson and Jalen Cone led the way, as the Cal Bears returned home after going winless in the SoCal Showcase to defeat the Santa Clara Broncos, 84-69.

The Broncos came into tonight’s game at 7-1, so the Bears were going to have their hands full. The two teams traded baskets early on, but after a three-ball by Cone, his first of three-straight, gave Cal a 7-6 lead, the Bears would not look back.

Cal opened out to a 23-9 lead, as they mostly maintained a double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the first period. Cal went into the half up 45-31.

Cal continued to maintain that lead as the second period got underway, and got to their biggest lead of the night at 63-45, following a pair of free throws by Keonte Kenney with 11:13 to go.

However, the Broncos struck back with a 14-2 run, as they closed Cal’s lead to 65-59 with 7:37 to go. Tyson hit a three to make it 68-59, and from there the Bears got back on track, as they scored 14 unanswered points to open their lead back up to 79-59.

Tyson scored the first seven points of the drive, and he also got into a brief scuffle with Kosy Akametu of the Broncos, as both were hit with technical fouls. The fouls didn’t matter, however, as Tyson ended up getting his third double-double of the season as part of a 21-point performance.

The Broncos outscored the Bears 10-5 at the end, but it was far too late, as Cal ended up winning the game 84-69.

Tyson and Cone combined for nearly two-thirds of Cal’s scoring tonight. In addition to Tyson’s 21 points, Cone scored 26 points, as he was also 7-for-10 from beyond the arc.

With this win, Cal improves to 3-5 on the season, and they have also equaled their win total from last season just eight games into this season.

The Bears will have another week off, and they will then make the trip to Indianapolis, Indiana to take on the Butler Bulldogs for a 9:00 am tip next Saturday.

Cal’s comeback in overtime not enough; drop third-straight in SoCal Showcase to San Diego 76-67

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Cal Bears forward Fardaws Aimaq tries to get some offense going against the San Diego Aztecs forward Jaedon Lee (13) at SoCal Showcase at JSerra Pavilion in San Juan Capistrano on Sat Nov 25, 2023 (@CalMBBall photo)

Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023

JSerra Pavilion, San Juan Capistrano, California

California Golden Bears 67 (2-5)

San Diego State Aztecs 76 (5-1)

By Stephen Ruderman

The Bears came back late to force overtime, but they eventually lost their third-straight game in the SoCal Showcase, as the San Diego State Aztecs’ defense shined to beat them 76-67.

The Bears had dropped their first two games of the SoCal Showcase played in San Juan Capistrano, each by three points. Tonight, they were looking to bounce back against a strong Aztecs team.

The Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead early, as Jaylon Tyson laid one in, and Jalen Cone hit a three. The Aztecs quickly matched it to tie it at 5-5. Fardaws Aimaq hit a three to give Cal an 8-5 lead, but Micah Parrish hit a three to tie it at 8-8.

The Aztecs got to 16-11 lead with 12:06 left in the first period, but Cal scored five unanswered points, as Tyson hit a three-ball to tie it at 16-16 with 10:49 left. The score remained neck and neck for a couple of minutes, but San Diego State was able to hold a steady lead throughout the latter half of the first period, as they went into the half up 39-34.

The teams traded baskets to start the second period, as Cal got to within three at 45-42 three minutes and 21 seconds into the second period. From there, the Aztecs began to pull away, as they scored seven unanswered points to open up a 52-42 lead. It was the beginning of a 14-5 run for San Diego State that put them up 59-47 with 9:24 to go.

Cal refused to concede, and was able to slightly cut the deficit to 63-54 with 6:15 to go. Aimaq hit a pair of free throws with 5:19 to go to cut it to 63-56, and Rodney Brown Jr. hit a three with 4:35 left to cut it close at 63-59.

The Bears were back in it, but neither team scored for over two minutes. Brown then hit another three with 2:23 to go, and suddenly, it was a one-point game at 63-62. Aimaq hit the second of two free throws to tie it at 63-63, and neither team scored in the minute and 42 seconds left, as the game went into overtime.

Cal had miraculously come back late to send the game into overtime, but just as soon as they had done so, the Aztecs took the momentum right back. The Bears won the jump ball to start overtime, but Jaylon Tyson had the ball stolen by Reese Waters, and Grant Newell traveled.

Waters was fouled by Newell, and hit a pair of free throws to put San Diego State back ahead. Aimaq missed a layup, and San Diego State capitalized on it, as Jaedon Ledee rebounded it and made a jumper in the paint to put the Aztecs up 67-63.

Tyson and Aimaq each made a free throw to make it 67-65, but another jumper by Ledee made it 69-65, and the Aztecs took control. Darrion Trammell made a pair of free throws with 1:17 to go, and by then Cal had run out of time. The Aztecs ended up winning it by a final of 76-67.

Cal falls to 2-5, and they will return home for a week off. They will try and bounce back on Saturday, Dec. 2 at Haas Pavilion, as they will welcome in the Santa Clara Broncos for a 4:00 tip.

Stanford Falls to Santa Clara 89-77

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Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud lays one up against the Santa Clara Broncos at Maples Pavilion in Palo Alto on Tue Nov 14, 2023 (AP News photo)

By Barbara Mason

Tuesday night the Stanford Cardinal (2-1) took on the Santa Clara Broncos (3-0) in a battle of the unbeaten. Stanford led by slight margins for most of the game. They had led by as much as 12 points in the first half but it was the Broncos who pushed the pace eventually winning the game 89-77.

Tuesday night the Cardinal took on the Broncos at Maples Pavilion. Stanford is coming off a win Friday night against the (0-3) Sacramento Hornets 91-73. The Broncos are also coming off a win over St. Francis PA last Saturday 82-59.

In that game Carlos Marshall Jr. had the high score for Santa Clara with 25 points. Stanford kept an eye on Marshall. The Cardinal have a solid roster in Brandon Angel, Spencer Jones, Maxime Raynaud and Andre Stojakovic.

Stanford was highly favored. Angel had the high score in their last game against Sacramento finishing with 18 points with Jones, Raynaud and Stojakovic all scoring in double digits. Raynaud finished the game with seven rebounds. Both teams came into this game unbeaten. The Broncos came away with their record perfect and the Cardinal take their first loss.

Stanford hit the court starting this game with a shot from downtown from Stojakovic taking an early 3-0 lead. After taking a 28-16 lead at 12:08 the Cardinal let it all slip away and at 7:29 in the first half they were leading by a basket 30-28.

The Broncos took the lead once in the first half by a single point but Stanford hung onto the lead for the rest of the half. Santa Clara refused to go away threatening throughout the final seven minutes of play in the opening half. Stanford led at the half 46-44. Maxime Raynaud had the high for Stanford with 17 points.

The Broncos took the lead a couple of times in the second half but Stanford took the lead back every time but just could not establish a consistent rhythm and dictate the pace of this game. At 11:45 Santa Clara’s Adama Bal hit a shot from downtown and the Broncos went on to take a 62-57 lead.

This time it was the Broncos that threatened the pace of this game. This time it was Santa Clara that was holding small leads and extending their lead to 83-75 with less than a minute left in the game.

The Cardinal will next take on Eastern Wa again at Maples Friday night with tipoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca: Cal tries to get that first win of the season Sunday against Santa Clara

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Grant Newell who scored a career 17 points said he would rather have wins than be the top point scorer takes a shot against the Butler Bulldogs guard Simas Lukosius (41) on Sat Dec 10, 2022 (Cal Bears photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Grant Newell and Devon Askew led Cal in scoring with 17 points each against the Butler Bulldogs who wiped out the Bears 82-58.

#2 Three of the top shooters for Cal Lar Tiemann, Newell and Askew despite their efforts it’s just not enough for Cal as they can’t buy a win at (0-11).

#3 Newell’s 17 points was a career high and was 7-13 shooting Saturday it was Newell’s best game of his career.

#4 For Askew he had that outstanding game against USC back on Wed Nov 30th scoring 23 points, scored 25 points against Arizona on Sun Dec 4th, sat out due to health reasons against Eastern Washington on Wed Dec 7th and scored 17 points against Butler last Saturday.

#5 Michael talk about how important it was for Cal to take a full week off as they get ready for the Santa Clara Broncos (9-3) for a 2pm tip this Sunday at Santa Clara which is considered their third true road game.

Join Michael Duca for the Cal Bears podcasts Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com. Michael is a beat writer for the Golden Bear Insider a publication for everything Cal basketball.

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca: Bears go to capitalize on Broncos win host Dartmouth Sunday at Haas Pavilion

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Cal Bears Andre Kelly seen throwing down against the Oregon Ducks in Eugene in file photo. Kelly led Cal in scoring with 18 points in their last game against the Santa Clara Broncos on Sat Dec 11, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley (Cal Bears Athletics file photo)

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Michael Duca:

#1 Michael, the somewhat heavily favored Santa Clara Broncos (7-4) got a shock as the Cal Bears (6-5) had offensive control of the first and second halves and came up with a eight point 72-60 win at Haas Pavilion last Sat Dec 11.

#2 Michael, the Bears had three scorers in double figures led by Andre Kelly who finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and one assist. Kelly has been getting lots of good looks on offense and has been the pivotal player in scoring.

#3 We can’t ignore guard Jordan Shepherd who finished second in scoring on Saturday with 15 points, six assists, three rebounds one the keys to head coach Mark Fox’s line up.

#4 Unlike last season the Bears when they get behind they get an offensive run, case in point the Broncos tied up the game with six minutes remaining at 53-53 then the Bears went on a 10-2 run with Kelly hitting a key basket and Grant Anticevich scored a jump shot and a lay up.

#5 Next up for Cal they host the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5) at Haas Pavilion on Sun Dec 19th at 1:00 PM PST. The Big Green have lost four straight games and will play Stanford (4-3) tonight before getting a shot at the Bears.

Michael Duca does the Cal Bears basketball podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal Bears basketball podcast with Morris Phillips: Cal hosts Dartmouth Sunday; hoping for clean sweep on four game homestand

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The Cal Bears Andre Kelly (22) returns to the bench after having a great offensive night against the Oregon State Beavers on Thu Dec 2, 2021. The Bears host the Dartmouth Big Green on Sun Dec 19, 2021 at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. (AP News photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Morris:

#1 Morris, talk about how crucial the offensive scoring of Cal Bears (6-5) Andre Kelly has been on Saturday night against the Santa Clara Broncos (7-4) leading with 18 points for the 72-60 win.

#2 Cal who was expected to win five or less games all season have won four of their last five games are a game over .500 and beat a very respectable team in Santa Clara on Saturday night.

#3 The Bears were perfect from the free throw line going ten for ten head coach Mark Fox is pleased with the improvement from the charity stripe.

#4 What can you say about Grant Anticevich with 12 points, eight rebounds, and one assist he’s not only been consistent but his contributions have been big during Cal’s recent wins.

#5 The Bears host the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5). The Big Green have lost three in a row after winning three in a row. Dartmouth lost in their most recent game to Boston University (9-3) 65-62. They’ve been in some of the games they’ve lost could they give Cal a real run next Sunday at Haas Pavilion?

Cal Bears podcasts with Morris Phillips could be heard each Monday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Cal shocks Santa Clara 72-60; Kelly with hot hand scores 18 pts; Bears over .500 at 6-5

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The Cal Bears Jordan Shepherd and Makale Foreman celebrate the Bears eight point win over the visiting Santa Clara Broncos at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sat Dec 11, 2021 (photo by Cal Bears Athletics Dept)

By Michael Duca and Morris Phillips

The Cal Bears (6-5) Andre Kelly scored 18 points to lead the Bears to a 72-60 win over the much favored Santa Clara Broncos (7-4) at Haas Pavilion on Saturday night in Berkeley. The Bears didn’t even miss a free throw in their eight point win over the Broncos going 10-10 on the free throw line.

The Broncos tied up the game with six minutes remaining at 53-53 when they got a lay up from PJ Pipes. The Bears turned that around with a 10-2 come back run when Kelly hit a basket and Grant Anticevich scored a jump shot and a lay up.

Anticevich had 12 points, eight rebounds and an assist and finished in double figures third in scoring, the Bears Jordan Shepherd scored 15 points and had six assists. The big difference in the game was rebounding as Cal out rebounded the Broncos 44-26. The Broncos only pulled down one offensive rebound which if they had came close to the amount of rebounds that Cal had they could have the game in hand.

The Broncos had three players in scoring double figures Keeshawn Justice 13 points nine rebounds, Jalen Williams 12 points and four rebounds, three assists, and Giordan Williams 11 points and five rebounds.

The Bears host the Dartmouth Big Green (3-5) at Haas Pavilion on Sun Dec 19th at 1:00 PM PST. The Big Green have lost four straight games and will play Stanford (4-3) Thu Dec 16 before getting a shot at the Bears.

Hot-shooting Broncos defeat Stanford 88-72 on opening night

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The Stanford Cardinal suffered their first loss on opening night against the Santa Clara Broncos on Fri Nov 12, 2021 at the Leavey Center in Santa Clara (photo by Stanford Cardinal)

By Daniel Dullum
Friday, November 12, 2021

A big shooting night for PJ Pipes and Jalen Williams sparked Santa Clara to an 88-72 non conference men’s basketball win over Stanford Friday.

Pipes finished with 24 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Williams was next for the Broncos (2-0) with 19 points. Keshawn Justice contributed 14 points, along with a career-high 13 rebounds to go with four assists and two steals. Josip Vrankic had a career-high eight assists along with 15 points.

Stanford (1-1) took an early 5-0 lead after the Broncos missed their first three shots, but Santa Clara caught fire from the perimeter, hitting 11 of its next 12 shots while forging a 21-0 run to take the lead for good.

A 13-2 Cardinal run, sparked by six points from Maxime Raynaid, cut Stanford’s deficit to 30-24 at 6:32 of the first half. Santa Clara responded with a 10point run that prevented the Cardinal from getting any closer.

Harrison Ingraham led the Cardinal with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Raynaid finished with his first career double-double, as the 7-foot-1 freshman center tallied 16 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while hitting 7-of-9 field goal attempts.

The Broncos hit a blistering 60 percent from the field (34-of-67), including 12-of-24 from behind the 3-point arc. However, Santa Clara struggled at the free throw line, hitting 8-of-15.

The Cardinal host San Jose State on Monday, and Valparaiso visits Maples Pavilion on Wednesday.