Vrankic's putback lifts Santa Clara over Saint Mary's 67-66
MORAGA, Calif. -- Josip Vrankic had 22 points and 10 rebounds and scored the go-ahead basket with 9.4 seconds left to help Santa Clara beat Saint Mary's 67-66 on Saturday night.
The Broncos' Trey Wertz missed a driving layup and Vrankic grabbed the offensive rebound. Vrankic was short on the first putback attempt but grabbed the rebound and scored on the second putback. Malik Fitts missed a pair of attempts in the final seconds for Saint Mary's.
DJ Mitchell added 16 points and eight boards for Santa Clara (15-3, 2-1 West Coast Conference), which snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Gaels with the last victory a 71-70 win on Feb. 28, 2015.
Jordan Ford had 30 points and Fitts added 17 points and 11 rebounds for Saint Mary's (15-4, 2-2).
The Gaels took control with a 13-0 run early in the second half but missed 14 of their final 16 shots from the field. The Broncos made five of their final seven shots.
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2019-2020 West Coast Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gonzaga | 15-1 | - | 31-2 |
| BYU | 13-3 | 2 | 24-8 |
| Saint Mary's | 11-5 | 4 | 26-8 |
| Pacific | 11-5 | 4 | 23-10 |
| San Francisco | 9-7 | 6 | 22-12 |
| Pepperdine | 8-8 | 7 | 16-16 |
| Santa Clara | 6-10 | 9 | 20-13 |
| Loyola Marymount | 4-12 | 11 | 11-21 |
| San Diego | 2-14 | 13 | 9-23 |
| Portland | 1-15 | 14 | 9-23 |