Web update: John Bryant wins Cable Car Classic for Broncos in stunning fashion

By Cecile Nguyen

Santa Clara's John Bryant drove to the net and with his layup with 0.7 seconds remaining in overtime pushed the Broncos ahead 89-88 and thus secured a Santa Clara win in the Championship game of the 42nd annual Cable Car Classic.

The Bronco men's basketball (7-7) captured their 15th tournament title and their first since 2005 by defeating University of Texas at El Paso (7-5) in a game that featured two clutch baskets and a late controversial call.

Bryant's layup amidst three defenders with less than a minute left in overtime gave Santa Clara an 87-86 edge, but the Miners' star Stefon Jackson's jumper put UTEP up 88-87.

Bryant got the offensive rebound on a Bronco missed three but failed to put it in the hoop. A tie-up on the rebound was called as the big center tried to wrestle it away from an UTEP defender; the possession arrow awarded the Miners the ball.

With UTEP holding a one-point lead and control of the ball with less than three seconds left on the game clock, it seemed like it was over for the Broncos.

But James Rahon stole the subsequent UTEP inbound pass and was straddling the out of bound line when an official thought Rahon called a timeout and blew the whistle with 2.3 seconds left in the game.

Problem was Santa Clara had no timeouts remaining.

"First, I tried to get my balance," Rahon said. "Once I got my balance I thought about getting the ball to Perry (Petty) and to just score. I was surprised to hear the whistle."

Head Coach Kerry Keating said that he and his team knew that had no timeouts left.

"I saw James trying to get his balance, so he didn't travel," Keating said. "Then the whistle blew. I certainly didn't call a timeout. I know James didn't and he had the ball."

UTEP Head Coach Tony Barbee said he believed that both Keating and Rahon called a timeout. After the final buzzer Barbee was seen yelling at an official.

"I've never felt so violated in my life," Barbee said of the call.

Instead of the Miners' shooting two free throws for the technical foul, the official gave the Broncos the ball underneath their own basket which lead to Bryant's winning drive to the basket.

"It's part of human error, part of the game," Keating added. "John still was able to execute a play after all that. That's senior leadership and go-to guy that our team is counting on."

Bryant, who was named the tournament MVP, finished with a season-high 33 points, 17 rebounds and three blocks.

A foul was called following Bryant's winning drive and UTEP players were seen celebrating in the back court as they thought Bryant was called for a charge and the basket was waved.

However, the officials tagged the Miners with a blocking foul and "Big John" was awarded a free throw to end the game.

UTEP's Stefon Jackson pushed the game into overtime with a clutch three from way beyond the arc that banked off the glass and in with 0.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 78-78.

"I give UTEP a lot of credit for playing that well and forcing the game into overtime," Keating said.

Jackson scored a career-high 44 points going 13-for-24 from the field and was 14-for-16 from the free throw line.

"To have a guy score 44 on us; (the team) knew where he was going and he still got the shots off - he is a heck of a player," added Keating.

The guard also became the Miners' all-time leading scorer with 1,841 career points surpassing Brandon Wolfram who had 1,831 points. Jackson was also named to the All-Tournament team.

Teammate Randy Culpepper finished the game with 17 points off the bench and was also named to the All-Tournament team.

Santa Clara was down 31-30 at halftime, but like in their previous game against Belmont, the Broncos started the second half on a tear.

Foster and Bryant teamed up for 13-2 run with the center collecting eight of those points to give Santa Clara a 43-33 edge.

It became a back and forth game after UTEP gained a 61-59 lead with just under 14 minutes left in regulation courtesy of a Culpepper three as both teams began trading baskets with four points being the largest margin either team would hold for the remainder of the game including overtime.

In the Cable Car Classic's 42-year history, the championship game has never before gone into overtime.

Santa Clara will next hit the court in the New Year when they begin an East Coast road trip and take on Harvard on Jan. 2 at 4 p.m.

BRONCO NOTEBOOK:

In three years under Head Coach Tony Barbee, UTEP has previous never loss a Tuesday game. They are now 5-1 in Tuesday games.

UTEP has not won a regular season tournament away from El Paso since December 1984 when they defeated Western Illinois and Southern Illinois to win the Saluki Shootout in Carbondale, Ill

Santa Clara's Ben Dowdell and Kevin Foster were named to the All-Tournament team. The most inspirational player was award to Kevin Foster. James Rahon accepted the Sixth Man award.

Contact Cecile Nguyen at (408) 551-1918 or sports@thesantaclara.com.