The Santa Clara Broncos continued their spirited postseason play as they went on the road and destroyed the Southern Methodist Mustangs 72-55 in the semifinals of the 2011 CIT postseason tournament. The Broncos were led by a dominant 35-point performance from sophomore guard Kevin Foster. Forward Troy Payne contributed 15 points to the winning effort as the Broncos dominated SMU in the second half en route to victory.
Santa Clara entered the game as a four point underdog and played accordingly, struggling for the first 15 minutes of the first half. With 5:38 to play, SMU led the Broncos 26-17 and seemed in control. However, Santa Clara went on a 15-4 run to close out the half, leading 32-30. SMU re-captured the lead early in the second half and led 51-46 with 9:15 to go. It was all downhill from there for the Mustangs. Santa Clara simply blew them up, going on a game-closing 26-4 run leading to their 72-55 victory.
The Broncos advance to the 2011 CIT final in which they will travel to the winner of Iona and Eastern Tennessee State University. The championship game will take place at 5:00pm pacific on March 30.