The Lobos came into the contest on a wave of momentum after vanquishing New Mexico Highlands University, which they looked to build upon against a talented Santa Clara University team on Saturday, Dec. 6 at The Pit. They secured a decisive performance in a 98-71 home victory.
The Lobos started out with an aggressive approach, as forward Tomislav Buljan was fouled twice in the first two minutes of the game, leading to four free throws. The defense forced four quick turnovers, giving the Lobos an early 11-6 lead.
Tomislav Buljan finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
“That’s what I do, because I practice it also,” Buljan said. “I knew the bigs are not going to be ready. I’m going to be aggressive, you also practice that in practice. I’m going to be aggressive against them.”
After being down 16-14, a three-point shot by guard Uriah Tenette would spark a 12-0 run by the Lobos, giving them a 10 point lead around halfway through the first quarter, 26-16.
Lobos offense attacked Santa Clara in phases, as they went on another big run for a lead of 18 points, their largest lead of the half, before Santa Clara finished the first half on a 15-6 run. The Lobos would cling to a 45-36 lead at halftime.
The second half started off slow, as the Broncos went on a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to one point, but the Lobos quieted the noise with a 9-0 run themselves, getting the lead back to double digits — 56-46.
Santa Clara was never comfortable, as they did not lead in the second half, while the Lobos led by as much as 31 in the second half. The Lobos proved to be very efficient on offense, scoring 60% from the field. They had five players in double digits, and were led by guard Deyton Albury with 22 points.
“It felt good, but credit to my teammates, they were making shots, so the paint just felt more open for me and it was just easier to finish around the basket,” Albury said. “I started the season kind of rough, but just kept working, kept my head in it and getting confident in myself.”
The Lobos finished with 29 breakaway points, 36 points off the bench and 50 points in the paint, a complete performance offensively.
“I thought we played probably easily, our most complete game. How we sustained our effort, our execution for the vast majority of the game and we got a great result against some really good basketball team,” Lobo Head Coach Eric Olen said.
The Lobos improved their win streak to four; now at 7-2, they have a road date next on Wednesday, Dec. 10 versus Virginia Commonwealth University, one of the Lobos other top non-conference opponents.
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Alex Joe is a freelance videographer for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @DailyLobo
