Local sports digest: Santa Clara Broncos win College Basketball Invitational championship

FAIRFAX, Va. -- Tournament MVP Kevin Foster scored 24 points and the Santa Clara Broncos used a big second half to hold off George Mason 80-77 on Friday to win the College Basketball Invitational championship.

Just one season removed from a winless West Coast Conference campaign, SCU (26-12) won the best-of-three tournament for its second postseason title in three seasons.

Marc Trasolini added 20 on Friday, scoring 16 in the second half. Evan Roquemore had 19, and sealed the championship with four free throws in the final 20 seconds.

SCU's 26 wins are one short of the school record set in 1968-69 (27-2).

"I am really proud of our guys," SCU coach Kerry Keating said. "With Marc and Kevin as fifth-year seniors we are trying to establish being competitive in tournaments like this in the postseason. It's a process and we are working to build on winning the CIT two years ago and now the CBI this year. We have to stay focused moving forward.

"Our five seniors are leaving behind quite a legacy and have set a high standard. I couldn't be happier or prouder of our guys."

But before the Broncos could celebrate, George Mason's Patrick Holloway missed a three-point attempt at the buzzer to settle the tight series.

Foster's three-pointer with 1:11 put the Broncos ahead for good at 75-73. Foster finishes his career with 431 threes, tying him for No. 4 all-time in NCAA history. He also finishes with 2,423 career points,

second-all-time in the West Coast Conference.

"I am so glad I could end my five years with a win," said Foster. "We played hard tonight. We didn't play well the other night. We worked hard and wanted it all year long."

Foster, who leaves as the Bay Area's all-time leading scorer, set a CBI record with 158 points in the tournament.

Roquemore broke the school record for single-season assists. He finished the year with 196 assists, topping John Woolery, who had 190 in 1993-94.

S.J. Giants

Shawn Payne had three hits, but the rest of the Giants managed just three more in a 1-0 loss to the host Visalia Rawhide.

Giants starter Edwin Escobar allowed three hits and struck out six in five scoreless innings. Visalia scored the only run of the game on a home run in the sixth inning.

College baseball

No. 9 hitter Brant Whiting hit a three-run homer in the sixth inning, lifting the No. 25 Stanford baseball team to a 4-2 win at USC. Mark Appel (5-2) allowed two runs and seven hits over 8?2/3 innings.

Defending national champion Arizona scored five times in the second inning en route to a 10-1 rout of visiting Cal. Brian Celsi's RBI infield single in the ninth plated the Bears' only run.

Nick Schultz had an RBI single, but San Jose State was limited to five hits in a 6-2 loss to Louisiana Tech at Municipal Stadium.

T.J. Braff had two hits in Santa Clara's 8-2 home loss to BYU.

Miscellany

Michelle Cox hit her first-career home run and Allison Lang pitched three shutout innings, but the San Jose State softball team lost 2-1 to Seattle University.

The top-ranked Cal men's golf team opened with an even-par 284 and was tied for fourth at the ASU Thunderbird Invitational in Tempe, Ariz., eight shots off the lead of No. 3 New Mexico.

The Bears' Michael Kim, the nation's No. 1 player, was tied for sixth at 2-under 69.

San Francisco Bulls, playing in their first-ever playoff series, dropped Game 1 to the ECHL regular-season champion Alaska Aces 5-1 in Anchorage. Kris Belan scored for the Bulls. The series continues Saturday night in Anchorage.

Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/other-sports/ci_22968623/local-sports-digest-santa-clara-broncos-win-college?source=rss_emailed

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