In the first three games of the CIT, the SMU menΓÇÖs basketball team has held each of its opponents ΓÇö Oral Roberts, Jacksonville and Northern Iowa ΓÇö under their season average shooting percentages, and head coach Matt Doherty has made no secret of the fact that he is proud of the MustangsΓÇÖ defense.

The Ponies have been exceptionally stingy with their perimeter defense, and if they are to advance to the CITΓÇÖs championship game, they will need to turn in another strong defensive performance ΓÇö especially on the perimeter ΓÇö when the Santa Clara Broncos come to Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. Friday.

Nobody in the country has taken or made more three-pointers this season than Santa Clara guard Kevin Foster (photo by Santa Clara athletics).

Sophomore guard Kevin Foster (6-2, 219) has the quickest trigger of all of the Broncos. The Katy, Texas, native has taken ΓÇö and made ΓÇö more three-pointers this season than any player in the country.

Consider the fact that junior SMU forward Robert Nyakundi leads the Mustangs from long range, connecting on 93 of 190 three-pointers this season. Meanwhile, Foster has hit 132 of 355 shots from behind the arc, and leads the Broncos in scoring with an average of 19.7 points per game. (He also ranks first in steals, with 57.)

If that wasnΓÇÖt enough, Foster is joined in the SC backcourt by freshman guard Evan Roquemore (6-3, 165), the teamΓÇÖs third-leading scorer (11.7 points per game) and second-leading shooter on three-pointers, having hit 51 of 127 shots from long range.

Doherty said that while Foster and Roquemore present a daunting challenge for the SMU defense, itΓÇÖs not like Santa Clara is the first team to send guards who can score at the PoniesΓÇÖ defense.

ΓÇ£Their guards are really good,ΓÇ¥ Doherty said. ΓÇ£But Northern Iowa had very good guards, Jacksonville had good guards, Oral Roberts had guards who can score. We have to play well on the defensive end.ΓÇ¥

Doherty said that neither Roquemore nor Foster is the BroncosΓÇÖ clear-cut point guard or shooting guard. Each is a ΓÇ£combo guardΓÇ¥ who can handle the ball or let fly with long shots.

ΓÇ£Northern Iowa did a great job preparing us for Santa Clara, because they have good guards, too,ΓÇ¥ said senior guard Collin Mangrum, one of the MustangsΓÇÖ guards who will be responsible for guarding Foster and Roquemore Friday night. ΓÇ£(Foster and Roquemore) can both score, especially No. 21 (Foster). We really have to pick them up and get hands in their faces.ΓÇ¥

Mangrum said both of the SC guards are threats (they also rank first and third on the Broncos in assists, with 131 and 133, respectively) but admitted that on the film the Mustangs have seen, Foster, in particular, stands out.

ΓÇ£The guy can really shoot,ΓÇ¥ Mangrum said. ΓÇ£HeΓÇÖs got NBA range on his three-point shot. WeΓÇÖll have our hands full with both of those guys.ΓÇ¥

Despite the fact that the Mustangs have had some success defending guards during their victories in the first three rounds of the tournament, Mangrum declined to suggest that the fact that Santa Clara gets so many points from its guards makes the Broncos an ideal opponent against SMUΓÇÖs improved perimeter defense.

Former UCLA assistant Kerry Keating is in his fourth season as head coach at Santa Clara (photo by Santa Clara athletics).

ΓÇ£I donΓÇÖt know that there is such a thing as a perfect matchup,ΓÇ¥ Mangrum said. ΓÇ£To get this far in the tournament, you have to be playing pretty well, so theyΓÇÖre going to challenge us. But we have done a pretty good job defensively, and hopefully we can do that again against Santa Clara.ΓÇ¥

Doherty was quick to point out that while Foster and Roquemore might garner many of the headlines, the Broncos are not just a one-dimensional team that relies solely on perimeter shooting.

ΓÇ£(Santa Clara forward) Marc Trasolini (6-9, 235) is a good player,ΓÇ¥ Doherty said of the BroncosΓÇÖ third player whose scoring average is in double digits. ΓÇ£HeΓÇÖs their second-leading scorer (13.2 points per game) and heΓÇÖs their best rebounder (with 206, or a team-high 6.1 per game). HeΓÇÖs a good shooter who likes to face the basket a lot. HeΓÇÖs sort of a ΓÇÿpick and popΓÇÖ guy ΓÇö heΓÇÖs a lot like (Nyakundi).ΓÇ¥

Doherty also said that senior SMU forward/center Papa Dia, whose defensive responsibilities will include guarding Trasolini, no longer is feeling any discomfort in his back, and should be ready to play the Broncos Friday.

Teams that rely so much on long-range shooting can be hard to defend, Doherty said, and not just because of the points they can generate from behind the three-point line.

ΓÇ£Against a team like Santa Clara, we have to take care of the ball, and we have to rebound the ball,ΓÇ¥ he said. ΓÇ£But with a team that likes to shoot the three as much as they do, we have to rebound smart. With long shots, if you crash the ball, the other team can get a lot of rebounds because the ball kicks out over you. So our perimeter defenders not only have to get a hand up on their shooters, they also have to be ready to turn around and come back to the rim, where hopefully they can get some long rebounds.ΓÇ¥

Doherty said that getting to the semifinals ΓÇö the fourth round of the tournament ΓÇö means both teams are playing well, and said itΓÇÖs impossible to say one team has more momentum going into FridayΓÇÖs game than the other.

ΓÇ£At this point, we both have momentum,ΓÇ¥ Doherty said, ΓÇ£or we wouldnΓÇÖt be this far along. WeΓÇÖre very glad to be playing at home again, practicing in our own practice facility and sleeping in our own beds. Hopefully it pays off Friday night.