SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) - PJ Pipes scored 21 points and Jalen Williams had 18 points and 10 assists as Santa Clara beat No. 22 Saint Mary's 77-72 on Tuesday night.
Pipes shot 8 of 13 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range.
Josip Vrankic added 16 points to move into eighth place on Santa Clara's career scoring list with 1,680. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds.
Tommy Kuhse led Saint Mary's with 16 points and six assists off the bench, but the Gaels had their seven-game winning streak snapped. Matthias Tass added 12 points and seven rebounds.
After a back-and-forth first half that featured seven lead changes and four ties, Santa Clara (17-8, 7-3 West Coast Conference) went on an 11-2 run early in the second to open a 46-38 lead.
The Broncos built the advantage to 12 before Saint Mary's (19-5, 7-2) scored 10 straight points to cut the margin to 60-58 with 6:46 remaining.
Santa Clara pushed the lead back to seven, but Saint Mary's charged back with five unanswered points to get within 73-70 with 38 seconds left.
The Broncos made their free throws down the stretch to seal it, and students stormed the court in a raucous celebration at Leavey Center.
Santa Clara shot 55% from the field and held Saint Mary's to 43%. The Broncos also outscored the Gaels in the paint 46-36.
Santa Clara held a slight edge on the boards, outrebounding Saint Mary's 32-30. Both teams committed 11 turnovers.
BIG PICTURE
Saint Mary's: The Gaels' usually stout defense couldn't contain the hot-shooting Broncos, allowing a season-high 77 points. Saint Mary's entered allowing just 58.4 points per game, sixth-best in the country. It was the Gaels' first loss of the season when scoring at least 60 points (19-1).
Santa Clara: The Broncos earned a season split against their rivals from Moraga, with each team winning on its home court. Santa Clara extended its winning streak to four and earned an impressive victory against a ranked opponent to bolster its NCAA Tournament chances.
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's: Hosts San Diego on Thursday night, looking for its 15th straight win over the Toreros.
Santa Clara: Hosts San Francisco on Saturday afternoon.
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