Santa Clara Rallies From 10 Down to Beat North Texas 76-71, Improves to 4-0
Thierry Darlan scored 16 points and hit the go-ahead layup with 2:44 left. Chris Tadjo added 14 and David Castillo 13. Fedor Zugic and Brad Longcor each made two free throws in the final 19 seconds. Ousmane Ndour led North Texas with 18.
By the Bay Area Brief staff · Edited by Seamus McKenna · · 3 min read
The Golden Gate Bridge at sunset under a pink and purple sky. Photo: Umer Sayyam / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped, resized and color-graded). Archive photo of the area; not a photo of the events in this story.
Thierry Darlan scored 16 points and hit the go-ahead layup as Santa Clara overcame a 10-point second-half deficit to beat host North Texas 76-71 on Wednesday night, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The Broncos improved to 4-0.
Santa Clara trailed by seven at halftime, then fell behind by double figures before Darlan's layup made it 70-68 with 2:44 to play. The Broncos did not trail again. Fedor Zugic and Brad Longcor each made two free throws in the final 19 seconds. "I thought North Texas' defense was simply tremendous," coach Herb Sendek said. "But our guys stood up and matched; played an outstanding second half. Played with incredible toughness and togetherness and made some big plays."
Chris Tadjo scored 14 points, David Castillo 13, and Sash Gavalyugov and Longcor 10 apiece. Ousmane Ndour scored 18 for North Texas, which fell to 2-1.
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The league's coaches picked Santa Clara to win the 2026-27 West Coast Conference men's basketball title. It's the first time the Broncos have been the preseason favorite since 1995-96.
Santa Clara scored in the second minute and added three more goals to beat USF 4-0 in San Francisco on Oct. 31. The Broncos are 8-2-8 overall and unbeaten in the WCC at 4-0-4.
Six Bay Area men's basketball teams open at home on Monday, Nov. 2. Saint Mary's starts the Mickey McConnell era against Illinois State, preseason WCC favorite Santa Clara hosts Towson, and USF, Cal, Stanford and San José State also play.
Santa Clara's men's basketball team opens the 2026-27 season Monday night at the Leavey Center against Towson, the first game ever between the two programs. The Broncos come in as the West Coast Conference favorite, with nine of 10 first-place votes in the preseason coaches poll.
Santa Clara women’s basketball opens Monday, Nov. 2, at Wyoming, with tipoff at 5:30 p.m. PT. The Broncos were picked first in the WCC preseason poll after a 24-10 season. Ten players return, including Maia Jones and Sophie Glancey.
