SANTA CLARA, Calif. – San Diego surrendered a season-high 45 points in the first half and lost its second straight game to start the conference schedule as the Toreros fell to Santa Clara, 80-63, on Saturday at the Leavey Center.
 
USD (7-10, 0-2 WCC) trailed by 18 points at halftime – its biggest halftime deficit of the season – and surrendered a 58.6% shooting percentage to the Broncos (14-2, 1-0 WCC) in the opening 20 minutes. The Toreros bounced back in the second half, outscoring Santa Clara 36-35 and hitting half of its field goal attempts (11-of-22).
 
The Toreros finished the game allowing the Broncos to shoot 53.7% (29-of-54) from the field, their second-worst shooting percentage allowed this season. Santa Clara, which won its 16th consecutive home game, had 11 three-pointers and was 18-of-27 (66.7%) from inside the arc.
 
Offensively, four of the Toreros' five starters reached double-digits in points, led by Braun Hartfield's 16. The redshirt junior was 4-of-7 from three-point range (5-of-9 from the field) to give himself 10 straight games of 10+ points.
 
Joey Calcaterra, James Jean-Marie and Marion Humphrey each had 14 points to join Hartfield in double figures. Both Calcaterra (4-of-7, 57.1%) and Jean-Marie (5-of-9, 62.5%) were better than 50% from the field.
 
The four double-digit scorers combined for 10 of USD's 11 three-pointers made, its most in a game this year.
 
USD saw Santa Clara score almost half of its first-half points in the paint (22) and shoot 11-of-14 (78.6%) from inside the arc. The Broncos' Keshawn Justice scored 22 of his career-high 26 points in the first half and was 8-of-11 from the field (3-of-5 three-point field goals).
 
San Diego, meanwhile, was 4-of-15 (26.7%) on two-point field goals in the first half. After a Joey Calcaterra lay-up gave the Toreros a 12-11 lead, USD missed five straight two-point attempts as the Broncos pulled ahead 29-19. On the other end, the Broncos made six straight shots.
 
A three-point play by Jean-Marie pulled the Toreros within seven, 29-22, with 7:13 left in the first half, but the Broncos closed out the half by scoring 16 of the final 23 points.
 
The closest the Toreros would cut the score to in the second half was 12 points when Sabry Philip drove and finished a short jumper to make it 53-41 with 13:02 remaining. However, the Broncos stretched the lead once again, including as much as 21 points.
 
USD returns to action with a two-game home stint, starting with a matchup against No. 1 Gonzaga on Thursday, January 9 at 7 p.m. in the Jenny Craig Pavilion.
 
 
NOTES
The 45 points by Santa Clara in the first half marked only the fourth time this year USD surrendered 40+ points in the first 20 minutes of a game.
 
USD's 11 three-pointers were its most since February 21, 2019 vs. Portland (11).
 
The Toreros committed 19 turnovers, their second most in a game this year. Santa Clara scored 22 points off the 19 turnovers.
 
USD had 15 assists on its 20 field goals. Four Toreros – Calcaterra, Hartfield, Humphrey and Jean-Marie – each had three helpers.
 
Hartfield had three steals, three assists and three rebounds to go with his 16 points.
 
Jean-Marie led the Toreros in rebounding with six.