Bal helps Santa Clara edge No. 23 Gonzaga
Adama-Alpha Bal scored the go-ahead basket with 4.6 seconds remaining and Santa Clara beat No. 23 Gonzaga 77-76 on Thursday night in Santa Clara.
Bal had 17 points and six assists as the Broncos (126, 3-0 West Coast Conference) beat the Bulldogs for the first time since Jan. 20, 2011, snapping a 26-game losing streak.
Brenton Knapper added 16 points.
A sellout crowd at the Leavey Center erupted when the buzzer sounded and many fans stormed the court.
Anton Watson matched a career high with 32 points to lead Gonzaga (11-5, 2-1). He added nine rebounds and six steals in the loss.
Ryan Nembhard scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half, and Braden Huff added 14 points.
Trailing 52-44, Gonzaga went on a 19-6 run to take a 63-58 lead with 10:48 remaining. Santa Clara cut the lead to 76-74 on a dunk by Johnny O’Neil with 50 seconds remaining.
Former Santa Clara standout and Basketball Hall of Famer Steve Nash was in attendance and received a standing ovation when he was shown on the video screen in the first half.
The Bulldogs are in serious jeopardy of falling out of the AP Top 25 for the first time in 144 weeks. Gonzaga fell to 0-2 on the road this season. NO. 10 ILLINOIS 71, MICHIGAN STATE 68 » Marcus Domask scored 15 points, including four free throws in the closing minutes that helped Illinois (12-3, 3-1 Big Ten) hold off Michigan State (9-7, 1-4) in Champaign, Ill. Coleman Hawkins and Ty Rodgers also scored 15 points apiece for the Illini. NO. 24 FAU 85, TULANE 84 » Alijah Martin hit two of three free throws after being fouled by Tulane’s Jaylen Forbes on a desperation 3-point attempt that was not close to going in with less than a second left, and Florida Atlantic (12-4, 2-1 American Athletic) escaped with a victory
over the Green Wave (10-5, 1-2) in New Orleans. Martin missed the second free throw, but made the third to secure a result that helped FAU avoid what would have been a second straight loss after being upset at Charlotte. UC SAN DIEGO 88, LONG
BEACH STATE 74 » Bryce Pope had 26 points for the host Tritons (10-6, 4-0 Big West Conference) in a victory over Long Beach State (11-6, 3-2).
NOTE » Marquette guard Sean Jones will miss the remainder of the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee Wednesday during the 11th-ranked Golden Eagles’ loss to Butler.