DESTIN, Fla. — Adama Bal scored a career-high 25 points - 14 in less than five minutes in the second half - and his offensive eruption ignited Santa Clara and the Broncos beat Oregon 88-82 in the Emerald Coast Classic on Friday night.
The Broncos are now 2-0 against the Pac-12 after defeating Stanford 89-77 on Nov. 14. Friday’s win sends Santa Clara to the championship game against Ohio State of the Big Ten Conference on Saturday.
Bal, a 6-foot-7 junior transfer from Arizona, finished 10-for-14 shooting, Christoph Tilly scored 18 points while shooting 7 of 9, Carlos Marshall Jr. scored 12 and reserve Tyeree Bryan also had 12 for Santa Clara (6-0).
Keeshawn Barthelemy scored 17 points, Kwame Evans Jr. 16, Jesse Zarzuela 12 and Mahamadou Diawara 11 for Oregon (4-1).
Bal’s basket with 16:03 left tied it at 46. Almost five minutes and 12 points later, his three-point play gave the Broncos a 60-57 lead with 11:26 left. The Broncos began to pull away, and Tilly’s reverse layup and three-point play off an assist from Bal gave Santa Clara a 77-68 lead. Bal’s step back 3-pointer made it 81-71 with 2:43 left. Oregon (4-1) went on a 9-3 run and reduced its deficit to 84-80 but never got closer.
Oregon plays Alabama on Saturday.
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