College basketball roundup: Santa Clara men improve to 3-0 with win over Sacramento State

Chris Tadjo scored 14 points to lead five Santa Clara players in double figures as the Broncos defeated Sacramento State 83-77 at Leavey Center on Saturday night.Santa Clara (3-0), which trailed by 10 early, rallied to lead by nine at the half and pushed its edge to 14 after the intermission. The Hornets (1-1) then took a 67-60 lead midway through the second half before a 15-0 run by the Broncos gave them the lead for good. "We were challenged in every conceivable way," Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek said in a postgame radio interview. "It was a hard-fought game, could have gone either way. Both teams had double-digit leads and they evaporated in both directions. Fortunately, we made enough plays at the end of the game to get the win."David Castillo scored 13 points, Fedor Zugic and Sash Gavalyugov added 12 apiece and Elijah Mahi 11 for Santa Clara. Mikey Williams' 21 points led Sacramento State.UC Irvine 91, San Jose State 79: Joey Chammaa and Mookie Cook scored 16 points apiece for the visiting Spartans (1-1), who fell behind by 20 at halftime in a loss to the host Anteaters (2-0).San Jose State, which opened its season 21-point win over Texas-San Antonio, saw Big West preseason favorite UC Irvine open with a 13-0 burst. A 46-24 edge in rebounds and 44 points in the paint by the Anteaters also factored in the outcome."We got off to such a slow start, we dug outselves a hole and we just couldn't dig ourselves out of it," Spartans coach Tim Miles said. "I'm happy that we kept fighting and had chances late in the game. But ultimately, against a high quality opponent like this, you've got to come ready from the jump."KJ Martin scored 14 points and JaVaughn Hannah had 11 for San Jose State. Jovan Jester scored 24 to lead UC Irvine. WomenSanta Clara 64, Utah Valley 62:Sophie Glancey had game highs of 20 points and nine rebounds and the Broncos (2-0) built a 13-point fourth-quarter lead and then held off the Wolverines (1-1) in Orem, Utah.Santa Clara, which led by six at halftime and by seven entering the fourth quarter, pushed its lead to 58-45 on a 3-pointer by Maia Jones with 7:07 to play. The Broncos still held a 62-51 edge with 4:43 to go but managed just two points on 1-for-8 shooting the rest of the way.Late-game blocks by Glancey and Ava Schmidt stymied the Wolverines before a contested final Utah Valley shot at the buzzer was off target.Elizabeth Gentry scored 18 points for Utah Valley, which forced 21 Santa Clara turnovers. Air Force 61, St. Mary's 37: The Gaels (0-2) were outscored by 12 points in both halves, committed 22 turnovers that led to 23 Falcons points and shot just one free throw as they fell to host Air Force (2-0).Evelyn Tounkara, Charlece Ohiaeri and Niveya Henley scored seven points apiece for St. Mary's.Keelie O'Hollaren had 20 points for Air Force, which opened the game on a 9-0 run and did not cede its lead.SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at College basketball roundup: Santa Clara men improve to 3-0 with win over Sacramento State.