The tournament final of the 76 Classic college basketball tournament is currently being contested by the Saint Louis Billikens and Oklahoma Sooners, but the undercard on Sunday provided three entertaining games at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Santa Clara Broncos upset the Villanova Wildcats 65-64 to capture third place in the eight-team Thanksgiving weekend tournament.
Evan Roguemore hit a pair of free throws with 4.3 seconds remaining in the game to cap a 10-0 for Santa Clara to give the West Coast Conference particpant their second win in three games in the four-day tournament. Roguemore dished out nine assists to go with his 15 points. Raymond Cowels III led Santa Clara with 20 points, including six three-pointers.
In earlier action on the consolation side of the bracket, Phil Martin scored 14 points to lead the UC Riverside Highlanders to a 64-63 upset win over the Washington State Cougars. Washington State finished the 76 Classic with three losses in four days, and is one of several struggling teams in the Pac-12 Conference. So far this season, Pac-12 teams are 8-17 in neutral site games and 4-5 in road games.
Also on the consolation side of the bracket, the New Mexico Lobos got off to a fast start with a 41-26 halftime lead, and beat the Boston College Eagles 75-57.