Gonzaga males’s basketball has overwhelmed Santa Clara in every of their biannual matchups since 2011 — that’s 26 video games should you’re counting. And with a Bronco five-point run within the remaining minute of play to notch a 77-76 Santa Clara win… Poof, that streak is gone. What’s extra, the No. 23 Zags’ 143-week streak within the AP Ballot may simply be endangered.
And if these circumstances weren’t quintessential sufficient, Santa Clara’s most famed participant, Steve Nash, and former head coach Dick Davey have been amongst the sold-out 4,200-person crowd that witnessed the showdown.
Gonzaga’s biggest woe on Thursday night was capturing behind the three-point arc. Banking in simply 2-20 makes an attempt, Gonzaga shot .100 from afar, which is the worst ratio since their 82-54 blowout loss in final yr’s Elite Eight versus UConn. In distinction, Santa Clara knocked in 9 of 28 triples, due to Brenton Knapper’s moist shot (4-9).
Santa Clara’s bench was enormously extra fleshed out than Gonzaga’s — the Broncos totaled 5 gamers with double-digit scoring and 19 bench factors, because the Bulldogs have been merely carried by the likes of Ryan Nembhard (21 PTS) and Anton Watson (32 PTS).
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Taking as a lot as a 38-25 lead within the first half, the Broncos maintained a 40-34 chip over Gonzaga on the break. The Bulldogs sewed up their deficit by the midpoint of the second stanza, and the 2 battled tooth and nail till the ultimate 60 seconds.
Down 72-76 within the final minute of play, Johnny O’Neil’s two-handed jelly ignited Santa Clara’s game-winning run. Junior Adama-Alpha Bal sealed the take care of a made free throw and a soar shot within the remaining 15 seconds to nostril only one level forward of the Zags. Lacking his second free level, Gonzaga’s Watson rebounded the ball and handed it into Santa Clara territory, the place it was intercepted by Bal to finish the sport.
take all of it in Bronco Nation 🥲#StampedeAhead pic.twitter.com/lONatlwgrz
— Santa Clara Males’s Basketball (@SantaClaraHoops) January 12, 2024
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The Broncos at the moment are 12-6 on the yr after going through their first ranked challenger of the season. Gonzaga falls to 11-5 this season, additionally registering losses to top-5 powerhouses Purdue and UConn, and unranked losses to Washington, San Diego State, and now, Santa Clara.
The Zags have only one ranked win underneath their belt over UCLA in November, however the high quality of this dub has since been tainted because the Bruins have gone 2-10 of their matchups following the Gonzaga matchup. Thus, can Gonzaga’s case for remaining within the AP Prime 25 be defended?