 SANTA CLARA 75, EASTERN MICHIGAN 55
Eastern will meet Air Force in the consolation game of the Cable Car Classic Friday, Dec. 30, at 6 p.m. PST here in Leavey Center, while Santa Clara will square off against Wagner in the championship tilt at 8:15 p.m. Wagner recorded a 72-61win over Air Force in the first game Friday.
The Eagles, now 5-8 on the season, were led by senior guard Darrell Lampley with 14, while redshirt sophomore J.R. Sims added 10 points. Junior center Matt Balkema scored nine points for EMU.
Eastern shot just 36.4 percent from the field, making 20-of-53 attempts while the home squad was connecting at a 52.2 percent clip, making 24-of-46 field-goal attempts. The Broncos were also 8-of-18 from beyond the arc to Eastern's 5-of-16. Santa Clara held a decisive 39-24 advantage on the boards.
Santa Clara, now 8-4 on the year, was led by junior guard Kevin Foster, who poured in 25 points to lead all scorers. Niyi Harrison added 13 for the Broncos.
The home team raced out to a 10-2 lead in the early going with EMU's lone bucket coming on a dunk by sophomore center Da'Shonte Riley at the 18:10 mark.
The Eagles chipped away at that deficit, cutting it to three, 13-10, on a layup by redshirt sophomore Austin Harper with 10:21 left in the first half.
The Broncos rallied from that point, increasing their lead to 13, 23-10, with 3:55 left on a layup by Foster. But the Eagles fought back to cut it to seven at the half, 25-18, after out-scoring the Broncos, 8-2, over the final 1:19. The big bucket in that stretch came on a lone three from the top of the circle by Lampley.
Eastern finished the first half shooting 28 percent, making just 7-of-25 attempts, while Santa Clara connected at a 45.0 percent clip, making 9-of-20. Santa Clara won the first-half board battle, 18-11.
Santa Clara came out of intermission on fire, hitting the first seven points for a 32-18 lead before senior guard Quintin Dailey quieted that run on a tip.
The Eagles crept as close as 11 points, 36-25, on a three from Lampley with 14:07 left in the contest, but the home squad boosted its margin back up to 15 midway through the half and continued to build on that advantage the remainder of the game for the victory. |
