Jan. 29, 2011

Box Score | Photo Gallery

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - LMU saw Santa Clara use an 11-0 run to start the game to jump out to a quick double digit lead, then a 13-3 run to start the second half to build a 20-point lead early in the second half.

The Broncos would need every point.

LMU staged a huge second half rally, cutting the lead to just two but couldn't overcome the early half runs by the Broncos, falling 79-72 in front of 3,756 at Gersten Pavilion Saturday night.

"We really fought hard down the stretch, and we started to get out in transition and run our offense," said Head Coach Max Good. "But we just put ourselves in too big of a hole to start both halves. We did a good job to get the lead back to single digits right before half, but then we let them get away again coming out of the lockerroom. That killed us in the end."

Vernon Teel was huge for the Lions, scoring 21 points with six assists and four steals. Drew Viney added 13 points while Ashely Hamilton went for 12 points and eight rebounds.

Santa Clara's Kevin Foster, who had just eight points Thursday against Pepperdine, scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the first half as he hit his first three shots to push the Broncos to a quick double-digit lead. Foster would finish a perfect 13-for-13 from the charity stripe, including four straight in the final seconds to clinch the win. Evan Roquemore added 15 points and six assists for Santa Clara.

Santa Clara wins their fourth straight to improve to 5-2 in the WCC and 14-9 overall. LMU falls to 8-13 and 1-6 in the WCC.

For the second straight game Santa Clara got off to a big start, jumping out to an 11-0 lead as Foster hit his first three shots, two coming from long distance. Meanwhile the Lions were ice cold early, shooting just 1-for-14 (7.1 percent) with nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes to trail 20-6.

Hamilton finally got the Lions their second field goal on a three-point play with 7:47 to play to cut it to 20-9.

The Broncos would hold a double-digit lead for most of the first half. Okonji's dunk with 51 seconds cut it to eight, 36-28. Foster's eighth and ninth free throw of the half would make it 38-28, Santa Clara at the break. LMU finished the first frame hitting 25.9 percent (7-for-27) while Santa Clara was 12-for-24 as Foster finished with 17 points.

Another fast start to open the half, this one the second half, saw the Broncos push the lead to 20, 51-31, with a 13-3 run.

LMU would use 50 percent shooting in the second half and outscored the Broncos 19-16 in points off turnovers and 14-8 in second chance points to get back into the game.

The Lions would cut the lead to 11, 57-46, and then Viney's three-pointer with 6:45 to play made it a 10-point game, 59-49. The Lions would then get the lead to seven, 59-52, on a Teel three-point play, 59-52, with 6:08.

SCU would get it back to 12, 66-54, on a Foster runner minutes later.

LMU would go on a 12-2 run from that point to cut the lead to just a field goal when Ayodeji Egbeyemi hit a three-pointer with 1:37 to play. The Lions would get no closer as the Broncos would go 10-for-11 from the free throw line in the final minute.

Santa Clara finished 21-for-25 from the charity stripe (84 percent) while the Lions went 23-for-32. The Broncos hit 48.1 percent from the field while the Lions hit 38.6 percent. The game featured the two best pressure defenses in the WCC, as LMU and Santa Clara went 1-2 in steals. The Broncos forded the Lions into 19 turnovers on 14 steals while the Lions force SCU into 16 turnovers on nine steals.

The Lions finish their three-game, five-day homestand on Monday in a non-conference match-up with Seattle. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be live on KXLU 88.9 FM, and broadcast through Lions' All-Access on LMULions.com and on campus on the Roar Network (LMU Cable Channel 6).