The Santa Clara Broncos dropped an 85-73 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners Friday evening as their attempts to rally from a 25-point second half deficit came up short. Santa Clara cut the lead to six with 45 seconds remaining but could not get any closer and dropped to 3-2 with the loss.
Evan Roguemore led the Broncos with 27 points and 10 assists. Kevin Foster scored 19 points and broke Steve Nash's career three-pointers made record in the loss. The Sooners got double digit points from four players, with Steven Pledger leading the way with 26 points. The Sooners dominated on the glass with a 47-28 edge.
Santa Clara will now play in Sunday's third place game against Villanova in a strong test for the Broncos. Villanova dropped an 80-68 semifinal game to Saint Louis after entering 76 Classic as tournament favorites. The third place game will tip off on ESPNU at 3:30pm PT.