Landale’s 34 lead Gaels to 18th in row

SAN DIEGO — For most of the game, it seemed like it was Jock Landale all by himself against the entire San Diego Toreros team.

The big Australian senior had 34 points and tied his season high with 18 rebounds, and the No. 13 St. Mary’s Gaels held off the University of San Diego 65-62 on Saturday night to extend their school-record winning streak to 18.

One of Landale’s biggest shots of the night came when he powered into the key for a layup with one minute left to help keep the rallying Toreros at arm’s length.

“There’s very few of those guys that you can actually just keep going to in the post, they’re not going to double, they’re going to make him beat them,” St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett said. “He can do it.”

The Gaels (23-2, 12-0 West Coast Conference) have the nation’s second-longest winning string. No. 3 Purdue won its 19th straight on Saturday, 78-76 in overtime at Rutgers.

“I don’t care about 18 straight, but it’s a great win,” Bennett said. “When league started, we were like, ‘This is going to be a tough one to get done down in San Diego.’ ”

Landale had his 16th doubledouble of the season — by halftime. He was three points shy of his season high. The only other Gaels player in double figures was Emmett Naar with 11. Naar also committed nine turnovers.

Isaiah Pineiro scored 24 points, Tyler Williams 12 and Isaiah Wright 10 for USD (15-9, 6-6).