Santa Clara pulls it out 67-63

Santa Clara Coach Kerry Keating inserted different players into his usual starting lineup and the move initially worked. But San Jose State took back the lead, courtesy in part to Bronco ballhandling generosity. It eventually became a battle back and forth until Keating's squad hit late shots and nabbed a 67-63 win at Walt McPherson Court.

Adrian Oliver led all with 26 points but didn't shoot well. Kevin Foster led the Broncos with 25 points, after scoring six in the first half. Justin Graham totaled 16 points and nabbed six steals.

SJSU shot 33% overall on the game, 2-12 from three-point range. SC shot 39%, 7-18 on treys.

A Keith Shamburger deuce put San Jose up 33-26 early in the second half but Santa Clara kept at it. The Spartans were strong early in half two but the momentum stalled and the Broncos, to their credit, took advantage.

It was 51-50 with SJSU leading when a Matt Ballard and1 three-point play boosted the margin to 54-50. Later, a Graham steal and feed to Shamburger led to a layup and a 58-55 Spartan margin.

But with 1:44 on the clock, Foster hit a driving layup to put his team ahead 59-58.

Oliver then missed a tough jumper but SC's Evan Roquemore came down and he also misfired.

Oliver was subsequently fouled, missed the first but made the second to tie the game at 59.

Then came THE BIG (SANTA CLARA) PLAY.

Coming off two screens, Foster nailed a trey with 26.1 seconds showing.

Then came THE BIG (SAN JOSE STATE) PLAY.

Oliver attempted a shot which was blocked by Roquemore, who recovered the ball and was fouled. Did a foul occur on the attempt? Not according to those who count, the referees.

Roquemore was then fouled, nailed a pair of free throws to put Santa Clara ahead by five and decide the outcome.

Graham was fouled, missed his first free throw (back rim), intentionally missed the second and Wil Carter grabbed the rebound but was errant with his shot attempt.

After 20 minutes, San Jose State led 27-26. Oliver had 16, Graham 10 and Ballard his free throw to achieve the total.

With 11:47 remaining, the Broncos were ahead 12-8. The Spartans were successful of just four of 15 shots at that point.

It was 22-21 in Santa Clara's favor when Ballard hit a free throw to tie the game. Oliver's jumper gave the Spartans a 24-22 lead. Broncos turnovers, forced and unforced, led to the first half lead loss.

Spartans win 74-68

Two miles or so separate San Jose State and Santa Clara University but the sports history between the basketball teams seems a distant memory as the Spartans now see Western Athletic Conference opponents as their primary rivals and the Broncos feel the same about West Coast Conference foes. Neither games at Walt McPherson Court nor at the Leavey Center between the schools pack in fans to the rafters.

But it's always fun to claim a win and establish so-called local annual superiority and San Jose State did just that Wednesday evening. Wearing their road blue uniforms, they left the Broncos blue by a score of 74-68.

At the half, Santa Clara led 30-25.

The Broncos then opened the difference to ten, 39-29, on a Ray Cowels trey, followed by a steal leading to a Niyi Harrison dunk.

Santa Clara enjoyed a 44-39 lead at the 11:23 mark but Mac Petersen apparently took insult of the situation. He hit four free throws and a layup, sandwiched in and around a Justin Graham layup, two foul shots by Adrian Oliver and a Robert Owens trey to boost San Jose State to a 54-47 lead.

Santa Clara battled back but three-pointers by Owens and then Peterson kept the Spartans ahead.

Back-to-back Bronco steals and points soon closed the gap to two -- 66-64, before Oliver hit a jumper with 40 seconds remaining.

Michael Santos of Santa Clara was fouled but hit just one of two foul shots and Oliver subsequently nailed both his free throws to make the score 70-65. Robert Smith made a layup for the Broncos but Oliver threaded another pair at the foul line, followed by a second twosome making it 74-68.

Oliver finished with a double-double of 24 points and 12 boards, Peterson concluded with 17 and Owens added 12.

+++++

Chris Oakes again wasn't available so Kyle Thomas started in his place and Peterson also was sent out as a member of the SJSU quintet for the initial jump ball. Oakes is sitting while a paperwork snafu is being appealed to the NCAA, an organization which makes molasses seems Usain Bolt-like and it being holiday time isn't making the situation any more expedient.

Santa Clara. Leavey Center. 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

Yes, the late Jack Webb wrote our subject line. But we will take over from here.

Crosstown rivalries are always cool because the fans of both the teams we are referring to interact and intersect throughout Silicon Valley on a daily basis. Bragging rights at the water cooler or the latte maker are up for grab tomorrow night.

The Broncos are currently 6-5, coming off a 54-53 homecourt victory over Pacific:

"Bronco sophomore Marc Trasolini nailed two free throws with 12 ticks left and the Santa Clara defense stopped a last-second attempt to capture victory over Pacific at the Leavey Center. The Broncos avenged their 84-57 loss from Nov. 22 in Stockton.

"I am really proud of our effort tonight. We worked hard not to turn the ball over and did a better job of handling it. It's great to have the team out of school and rested. The guys are coaching themselves out on the floor right now. It's great to see them continue to grow," said Bronco head coach Kerry Keating. "I would like to see Marc Trasolini shoot 10 three pointers a night. He is that good of a shooter. He just needs to work on his confidence and continue to shoot."

SCU shot 38.6 percent, including 40 percent beyond the arc. SCU had 30 rebounds, three blocks and four steals with 12 turnovers. Pacific shot 44.9 percent, including 30 percent beyond the arc. Pacific had 31 rebounds, four blocks and seven steals with 14 turnovers.

Trasolini led the Broncos with 17 points and five rebounds. Ben Dowdell finished with 12 points and five rebounds. Niyi Harrison also added seven points for the Broncos."

An important note: The most talented Bronco, 6-foot-2 guard Kevin Foster, fractured the fifth metatarsal of his left foot on December 19 and required surgery. He is probably out for the season but time will tell about that.

Bronco Schedule To Date

11/13/09 at Cal State Bakersfield W, 84-81
11/19/09 at San Diego State L, 86-53
11/22/09 at Pacific L, 84-57
11/25/09 vs. Northern Arizona L, 88-72
11/28/09 vs. Fresno State W, 74-67
12/01/09 at UC Santa Barbara W, 79-68
12/05/09 vs. UNLV L, 66-63
12/14/09 at Houston Baptist W, 68-65
12/16/09 at Rice L, 70-57
12/21/09 vs. Pacific W, 54-53

The Starting Quintet

* 6-foot-9 sophomore Marc Trasolini - 14.7 ppg., 6.7 rpg.

* 6-foot-7 freshman Niyi Harrison 7.6 ppg., 4.9 rpg. or 6-foot-8 freshman Chris Cunningham (both in-the-paint players)

* 6-foot-6 junior Troy Payne - 7 rebounds a game, 30 assists, 21 steals (all team-leading numbers), a JC transfer

* 6-foot-4 freshman Ray Cowls - 6.4 ppg., has taken the second most three-pointers on the team, shooting 27% on his treys

* 6-foot freshman Robert Smith - 10.8 ppg., 3.2 rpg., shooting 33% overall from the floor

The Calvary

* 6-foot-5 junior Michael Santos - more of a distance shooter than anything else

* 6-foot-7 junior Ben Dowdell - an all-around frontcourter, will get you some points and rebounds

* 6-foot-1 Troy Alexander - his numbers are down this season but he averaged 15 ppg. last year, starting seven games

The Bronco Roster by position

Troy Alexander Guard SO 6-1/180
Phillip Bach Guard SO 6-4/195
Kevin Foster Guard SO 6-2/220
Nate Mensah Guard JR 6-3/195
Kyle Perricone Guard FR 6-3/195
Michael Santos Guard JR 6-5/205
Robert Smith Guard FR 6-0/185

Ray Cowels Forward FR 6-4/205
Chris Cunningham Forward FR 6-8/230
Ben Dowdell Forward JR 6-7/225 (Australian Institute of Sport) there's that AIS again - St. Mary's has 3-4 players from there
Niyi Harrison Forward FR 6-7/220 (Bellarmine College Prep)
Troy Payne Forward JR 6-6/220
Marc Trasolini Forward SO 6-9/235

What To Expect

* As a team, Santa Clara is shooting 40% to 44% for opponents

* On treys, the Broncos are at 30% to 38% for opposing teams

* But Kerry Keating's squad has shot 61 more free throws on the season, committing 47 less fouls

* From the Santa Clara athletics site: "The Broncos have been a tale of two teams this year. In the six wins, the Broncos averaged 15.8 turnovers per game, but in the five losses they are averaging 20.0 turnovers per game. In addition, the Broncos averaged 75.8 points per game in the six wins with the opponents scoring just 66.8. In the five losses Santa Clara averaged 60.4 ppg and the opponents have averaged 78.8 ppg"

Radio Coverage: KSJS (90.5 FM, San Jose) originates San Jose State University basketball broadcasts. Mike Chisholm calls the play-by-play. Air time is 6:30 p.m. (PST) for the Santa Clara contest. But if you cannot access the Spartan 'net broadcast, try KDOW (www.1220kdow.com) for a live netstreaming of the game