SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Nov. 3) – The Saint Vincent men's basketball team dropped a 103-61 decision to Division I Santa Clara University in exhibition play at the Leavey Center in California.

Facing its second Division I opponent of the week, Saint Vincent gained an early 3-2 lead when senior guard Matt D'Amico connected on a three-pointer in the opening minute of action.

The host Broncos, who advanced to the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals before falling to perennial power Gonzaga, countered back with a 12-0 run to take a 14-3 edge over the Bearcats with 14:35 left in the first half.

Saint Vincent would use an 8-4 run to cut the deficit to 18-11 after back-to-back baskets by Shemar Bennett and David Stephen with 11:58 showing on the clock.

A 15-4 spurt helped Santa Clara push its lead to 33-15 with 8:17 left in the opening half of play.

The Broncos lead would eventually swell to 45-22 at the 4:41 mark and they would hold a lead of at least 20 for the remainder of the half before taking a 52-31 lead into halftime. Hot shooting helped SCU to the halftime lead, as the Broncos shot 55.2 percent from the field, including 7-of-12 from three-point range.

Matt Hauser (11) and KJ Feagin (10) each scored in double figures during the first half for Santa Clara, while Tom Kromka led the Bearcats with six points and three rebounds at the break.

Jason Capco opened the second half scoring with a jumper in the opening minute to bring the deficit to 19 points (52-33). Santa Clara countered with a 19-8 run to take a 71-41 lead with 15:50 to play.

Saint Vincent would slowly mount a run of 12-6 to make the deficit 77-53 at the 9:36 mark. Senior forward Austin Dedert scored eight points during the Bearcats outburst.

That was as close as the Bearcats would get though, as Santa Clara pushed the lead back to 30 with an 8-2 run, making it 85-55 with 7:07 to play. The Broncos would hold a lead of 30 points or more for the remainder of the contest.

Dedert led Saint Vincent with a 14-point performance, converting 6-of-8 shots from the field. D'Amico added 10 points and pulled down six rebounds. Stephen and Kromka each chipped in eight points.

Feagin poured in a game-high 21 points, while Henry Caruso added 18 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.

Santa Clara shot 53 percent from the field, including 41.7 percent from three-point range. The Broncos converted 74.2 percent at the charity stripe. SVC made 40 percent from the field and hit 15-of-19 free throws (78.9 percent).

Saint Vincent opens the regular season with a non-conference road trip to Penn State Altoona on Wednesday, Nov. 15. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m.