Saint Mary’s slips past No. 13 Gonzaga

SPOKANE, Wash. — Jock Landale had 26 points and 12 rebounds as Saint Mary’s beat No. 13 Gonzaga 74-71 on Thursday to take sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference. Calvin Hermanson added 16 points for the Gaels (18-2, 7-0), who won their 13th straight.

Rui Hachimura scored 23 points off the bench for the Bulldogs (16-4, 6-1).

Gonzaga, which had won its previous six league games by an average of 31 points, and Saint Mary’s, which leads the nation in field-goal percentage at 52.4, have won the past nine WCC tournament titles, with Gonzaga claiming seven.

Leading by four at halftime, the Bulldogs outscored the Gaels 8-3 to open the second half and push their lead to 5041.

Saint Mary’s came back, and Landale’s basket tied the score at 63 with seven minutes left. Landale scored again to put the Gaels up 65-63.

After Josh Perkins sank three free throws to put Gonzaga ahead, Landale’s basket tied it at 68.

Calvin Hermanson’s layup put Saint Mary’s up 70-68 with 2:45 left. Hachimura’s basket tied it again.

Landale’s layup put the Gaels up 72-70 with 1:06 left.

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At Atlanta, De’andre Hunter scored 17 points for the Cavaliers (17-1, 6-0 Atlantic Coast Conference), who forced 18 turnovers and held the Yellow Jackets (10-8, 3-2) to 40.5-percent shooting en route to winning their ninth straight. ■

At Lincoln, Neb., James Palmer Jr. scored 19 points for the Cornhuskers (14-7, 5-3 Big Ten), who downed the Wolverines (16-5, 5-3) for the first time in nine meetings since joining the

Big Ten in 2011-12. Michigan, which had won nine of its past 10, shot 37.5 percent and had a season low in points in their most lopsided loss of the season.

No. 2 Virginia 64, Georgia Tech 48 — Nebraska 72, No. 23 Michigan 52 —