Jan. 30, 2006
Box Score
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - Corey Belser had 15 points and eight rebounds and Ross DeRogatis added 14 as San Diego defeated Santa Clara 81-66 on Monday night.
Ray Murdock added a season-high 11 points for the Toreros (14-6, 4-3 West Coast Conference), who won their third straight and improved to 6-4 on the road. No. 5 Gonzaga is the only other team in the WCC with a winning record on the road and an overall winning record.
Mitch Henke scored 15 points for the Broncos (8-11, 1-6), who lost their sixth straight for the first time in 20 years. Brody Angley and Brandon Rohe each added 13.
Santa Clara suffered its worst January (1-6) under coach Dick Davey, in his 14th year as head coach at the school. The Broncos won 60 percent of their games in the month under Davey entering the season.
The Broncos played without leading scorer Travis Niesen because of back spasms. Niesen, a 6-7 senior forward who averages 18.8 per game, injured his back in a game last week but did not miss any action until now.
DeRogatis may be San Diego's hottest player. He's reached double figures in each of the last five games and is averaging a team-best 16.6 over that span. He leads the WCC with 56 3-pointers after hitting three of his four long range attempts against the Broncos.
San Diego opened a 14-point lead in the opening minutes of the second half and maintained a healthy edge the rest of the way.
The Toreros made 11 of their first 14 shots en route to shooting a sizzling 72 percent in the first half. Santa Clara missed nine of its first 12 shots but then made 10 of 15 for a respectable 48 percent half.
San Diego led by as many as 15 points before settling for a 45-33 halftime advantage.
