Streaking Santa Clara Whips Ewu Eagles Lose Third Straight; Whits Beat Northwest College Again

Craig Johnson scored a career-high 21 points and Brian Jones added 19 as Santa Clara defeated Eastern Washington 82-64 Wednesday in a non-conference game at Santa Clara, Calif.

Santa Clara (6-1) won its sixth consecutive game since opening the year against Kansas. The Broncos have won their past 18 games when holding opponents to fewer than 70 points.

Deon Williams scored 22 for EWU (4-4), which lost its third straight. Williams and Karim Scott combined to hit 17 of 27 from the floor.

EWU rallied from an 11-point deficit to tie the score at 52 with 11:16 left on Michael Lewis’ free throw.

The Broncos responded with an 11-2 run. Nathan Fast, SCU’s top scoring reserve, sparked the rally with a pair of free throws and a field goal.

“The difference in the game again was our defense and rebounding,” said Eagles coach Steve Aggers. “We have to start getting a little more productivity out of our front-line players. If our big guys don’t start rebounding the ball better, we may have to go with a small lineup, I guess.”

Santa Clara 82, EWU 64

EASTERN WASHINGTON (4-4) - Sims 1-2 2-4 4, Scott 8-14 0-0 17, Humbert 2-5 0-0 4, Williams 9-13 2-2 22, Tyler 3-10 0-2 8, Stone 0-0 0-0 0, M. Lewis 1-3 3-6 6, K. Lewis 0-2 0-2 0, White 1-4 1-2 3, Claus 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-54 8-18 64.

SANTA CLARA (6-1) - Pierce 4-10 1-2 10, Wuschnig 3-8 2-3 8, Lopez 1-5 0-0 2, Jones 8-15 2-4 19, Johnson 7-12 3-4 21, D’Oyen 0-1 2-2 2, Fast 4-7 2-2 12, Gomes 0-1 0-1 0, Sweeny 0-0 0-0 0, Holmes 3-5 2-4 8, Dely 0-0 0-0 0, Holbrook 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 30-65 14-22 82.

Halftime - SCU 41, EWU 35. 3-point goals - EWU 6-11 (Williams 2-3, Tyler 2-4, M.Lewis 1-2, Scott 1-2), SCU 8-17 (Johnson 4-7, Fast 2-2, Pierce 1-3, Jones 1-5). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - EWU 37 (Sims, Scott, Tyler 7), SCU 39 (Wuschnig, Jones 7). Assists - EWU 11 (Tyler 4), SCU 16 (Johnson 6). Total fouls - EWU 20, SCU 16. A - 1,071.

Whitworth 85, Northwest 72

Greg Jones scored 11 quick points in the second half and finished with 19 as the Pirates (5-3) again defeated the Eagles (3-6) at Kirkland, Wash.

Jones, 7 of 9 from the floor, hit two 3-pointers, a pull-up jumper and added a three-point play to spark a 24-point lead.

The Pirates also swept the Eagles last year. Wednesday, they shot 60 percent from the field, 68 percent after halftime.

Jeff Mix added eight rebounds, Tyler Jordan six rebounds and five assists, and reserve Doug Schulz 5-of-5 shooting from the floor for Whitworth.

Pirates coach Warren Friedrichs notched the 198th win of his career.

The Pirates, 1-1 in the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges, return to conference play Jan. 9 and 10.

WHITWORTH (5-3) - Ramey 0-0 0-0 0, Mix 5-13 2-6 12, Weston 3-6 2-3 9, Schulz 5-5 1-2 11, Nakanishi 3-3 0-1 6, Nelson 1-5 2-2 5, McDaniel 1-1 0-0 2, Jordan 4-6 2-2 12, Jones 7-9 3-5 19, Ruebel 3-5 3-4 9. Totals 32-53 15-25 85.

NORTHWEST COLLEGE (3-6) - White 9-19 1-2 25, Madsen 0-0 0-0 0, Swetman 1-2 0-0 2, C.Symmons 2-6 1-2 5, D’Agostino 2-6 1-2 6, Potts 0-3 0-0 0, Olson 2-7 2-2 8, T.Symmons 0-0 0-0 0, Eaton 2-6 2-2 6, Schneider 7-13 2-3 16, Russell 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 27-64 9-13 72.

Halftime - Whitworth 39, Northwest 29. 3-point goals - Whitworth 6-14 (Weston 1-3, Nelson 1-4, Jordan 2-3, Jones 2-2, Ruebel 0-2), Northwest 9-26 (White 6-15, Swetman 0-1, C.Symmons 0-2, D’Agostino 1-1, Olson 2-6, Schneider 0-1). Fouled out - D’Agostino. Rebounds - Whitworth 37 (Mix 8), Northwest 29 (Schneider 7). Assists - Whitworth 24 (Weston, Jordan 5), Northwest 16 (D’Agostino 6). Total fouls - Whitworth 16, Northwest 20. A - NA.

, DataTimes