The Santa Clara Broncos spent a lot of the first half and a small chunk of the second half of their game against the Saint Mary's Gaels look interesting, but the No. 16 ranked leaders of the WCC pulled away late, securing a comfortable 82-67 home victory. They're now 12-1 in the WCC, which puts them a game and a half ahead of conference title rivals Gonzaga.
Saint Mary's had won 12 consecutive games until Thursday, when Gonzaga snapped that winning streak in Spokane. The schedule worked out kindly for the Gaels, however, handing them an obvious rebound game on Saturday. Santa Clara had not won in the WCC entering the game, and they did well to keep the game interesting until the under-eight minute media timeout.
At that point, the Gaels led 64-61, but they pulled away in the final eight minutes for a comfortable victory. Rob Jones had an impressive 25 points and 12 rebounds, while Matthew Dellavedova contributed with a double-double of his own, notching 16 points and 10 assists.