4-5
Santa Clara
9-2
Mustang Men's Basketball Drops 72-64 Decision at Santa Clara
12/17/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Junior forward Chris Eversley (right) recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds on Monday evening, but a surge midway through the second half by Santa Clara lifted the Broncos to a 72-64 victory against the Cal Poly men's basketball at the Leavey Center.
Junior guard Kyle Odister added 11 points and freshman forward Brian Bennett chipped in 10 for Cal Poly (4-5), which led Santa Clara (8-2) 50-48 with 10 minutes to play before surrendering a 9-2 run that allowed the Broncos to grab an unassailable lead. Eversley and junior guard Jamal Johnson both added five assists for Cal Poly, which shot 47.1 (24-for-51) percent from the floor, but watched Santa Clara drain 23 free throws.
The Mustangs complete preparations for Big West Conference action when visiting Washington (6-4) for a nationally-televised Pac-12 Network matchup on Thursday, Dec. 20. Tip time at Alaska Airlines Arena is set for 6 p.m.
An Eversley three-pointer five minutes into action broke three early deadlocked scorelines and provided the Mustangs a 9-6 lead, but Santa Clara – backed by a four-point play from junior guard Evan Roquemore and two three-pointers from senior guard Kevin Foster – roared back with a 13-0 run. Mustang three-pointers from Odister and senior guard Dylan Royer cut the Santa Clara surge to 19-15, but the Broncos – who sank five of their opening seven three-point attempts – held Cal Poly scoreless for the ensuing four minutes and maintained a 24-15 advantage at the 10-minute mark.
Cal Poly, however, responded by keeping Santa Clara without a field goal for the next seven minutes and, sparked by a three-point play and lay-in from Eversley, the Mustangs closed their gap to 26-22. Santa Clara, held to just two field goals during the final 10 minutes of the first half, then yielded two layups to Bennett and a three-pointer to Odister as the Mustangs inched to a 31-29 gap at halftime.
The Mustangs and Broncos shared the lead five times during the opening five minutes of the second half with neither side opening up more than a two-point advantage until senior guard Drake U'u banked home a lay-up to provide Cal Poly a 44-41 lead with 12-and-a-half minutes remaining.
Santa Clara thrice fought back to knot the scoreline before finally reclaiming a 54-50 lead with eight minutes to play following four successive Roquemore free throws. Senior guard Raymond Cowels III followed with a three-pointer on the next possession to boost the Bronco lead to seven points as the Mustangs found themselves mired in a four-minute scoring drought.
Eversley broke the Mustang dry spell with a lay-up to trim Santa Clara's lead to 57-52 with six-and-a-half minutes to play. Cal Poly, however, drew no closer than within seven points of the Bronco lead down the stretch.
Bennett added six rebounds for Cal Poly.
