Santa Clara coach Herb Sendek wants his players to stay positive heading into Friday night’s third-place matchup against Minnesota in the Acrisure Invitational in Palm Desert, Calif.
Sendek watched his team lose 71-70 against Saint Louis in the tournament on Thursday night. He’s well aware how closely the Broncos came to playing for the tourney title, but he also recognizes the big-picture value of the Thanksgiving weekend contests.
“We’re not focused on the one-point differential at the end,” Sendek said. “We’re focused on learning, improving and growing. I gave the guys, just like I did here, tremendous credit for their effort and their heart and their hustle.”
Santa Clara (6-1) will look to bounce back from its first loss of the season against Minnesota (4-3), which is desperate to snap an early-season skid.
The Golden Gophers are coming off a 72-68 loss against Stanford on Thursday night in the tournament’s opening round. Isaac Asuma knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to pull Minnesota within one point at 68-67 with 17 seconds to go, but the Cardinal held on in the final seconds.
The defeat marked the second straight loss for Minnesota, which also fell to San Francisco on Saturday. Minnesota is searching for its first win since Nov. 18 against Chicago State.
The Golden Gophers could be without Chansey Willis Jr. in Friday’s matchup. Willis sustained an injury Thursday and returned to the bench with a boot on his right foot.
Minnesota coach Niko Medved said he liked his team’s effort on defense Thursday night, and it is something he wants to see again one night later.
“I thought the guys fought hard,” Medved said. “But we just needed to find a way to come up with a few more rebounds, and a couple crucial turnovers in those situations really hurt us.”
Elijah Mahi will look to stay hot for Santa Clara after scoring 18 points and grabbing seven rebounds on Thursday.
Minnesota’s Jaylen Crocker-Johnson also will try to maintain strong play in the tournament. He scored 23 points and led the team with four blocked shots against Stanford.
–Field Level Media
