Surging Gaels run win streak to 11
St. Mary’s proved to the crowd at Santa Clara’s Leavey Center on Thursday night that a lot more separates the Gaels from the Broncos than the one-hour drive — depending on traffic — between the two schools.
The Gaels led for the final 36 minutes in an 81-57 pasting that extended their winning streak to 11 games.
The streak has come without much fanfare. The Gaels did not receive a single vote in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll.
“We’ve just been kind of doing our deal and
not (getting) much attention, just chopping away,” St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said.
The Gaels (16-2, 5-0 WCC) had been ranked in the Top 25 before losing back-to-back games in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament in Southern California.
“That sort of took us out of the spotlight,” St. Mary’s guard Emmett Naar said, “so we’ve got to work our way back there.”
St. Mary’s center Jock Landale put together his 11th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Naar finished with 11 assists, the seventh time this season he has reached double figures in assists.
Guard KJ Feagin scored 19 points to pace the Broncos (6-11, 3-2) but went 6-for-15 from the floor.
“I think we can play better than we did,” Santa Clara head coach Herb Sendek said, “but you would quickly have to add St. Mary’s makes it difficult for you to play your best. They’re awfully good.”
A scary moment for the Gaels took place early in the second half. On a possession kept alive by two Landale boards, Calvin Hermanson drove the lane and scored despite a foul by Emmanuel Ndumanya, Santa Clara’s 6-foot-10, 267-pound center.
Hermanson left the game because of a cut on his chin that required two stitches. Evan Fitzner went to the line in place of the senior forward and knocked down the free-throw attempt in a rare three-point play made by two players.
Hermanson was able to return, but, with the Gaels in control the rest of the way, Hermanson did not re-enter. He finished with 14 points.
The Gaels were up 43-31 at that juncture. After Josip Vrankic’s bucket cut St. Mary’s lead to 10, St. Mary’s responded with a 12-0 run to effectively ice the game. Fitzner, part of the two-man three-point play moments earlier, began that stretch with a conventional three-point play.
The Gaels began the night leading the WCC in field-goal percentage (51.4) and threepoint field-goal percentage (40.5). The Broncos were last in the conference in both categories (50.2, 42.0).
St. Mary’s led 38-26 at the break and, sure enough, had shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) from the floor, including 6for-12 from beyond the arc. The Gaels finished the night at 55.2 percent from the field (32for-58), including 9-for-18 from long distance. Briefly: Naar has 696 assists for his career. He passed Loyola Marymount’s Terrell Lowery (689) for fourth place in WCC history. The top three are USF’s Orlando Smart (902), St. Mary’s Matthew Dellavedova (761) and San Diego’s Christopher Anderson (757). … St. Mary’s has beaten Santa Clara five straight times and has won 19 of the past 22 meetings.