SMC pulls away from New Mexico St.
Gaels cruise after being down eight in the first half
Emmett Naar scored 22 points, Jock Landale added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 21 Saint Mary’s pulled away to beat New Mexico State 92-74 on Monday night in Moraga.
The Gaels (2-0) trailed by eight points in the first half when Landale was limited by two early fouls. But the senior center scored 12 points in the second half.
Naar, who is second on the Gaels’ career assists chart, was a scorer early, providing 13 first-half points. Calvin Hermanson added 16 for the Gaels.
Zach Lofton followed his 25-point debut against East Central with 18 points to lead the Aggies (1-1). New Mexico State shot 7 for 10 on 3-pointers in the first half but just 1 for 9 after the break.
The Gaels dominate nonconference competition at home (78-8 past 10 seasons), but this was a legitimate test. The Aggies played in the NCAA tournament five of the past six seasons, the
exception being 2016 when they nearly knocked off Saint Mary’s at Moraga in the opening round of the NIT, falling 58-56.
USF 75, ST. FRANCIS 63 » Souley Boum scored 21 points, including three 3-pointers and all eight of his free throws, to help the Dons
hold off St. Francis (PA). DUKE NO. 1 IN AP POLL » Duke is No. 1 in The Associated Press’ first regular-season poll of 2017-18.
The Blue Devils were No. 1 in the preseason poll and received 34 of 65 firstplace votes from a national media panel in the AP Top
25 released Monday after winning their first two games.
No. 2 Michigan State received 13 first-place votes, No. 3 Arizona got 16 and No. 4 Kansas had 2. Duke had 33 first-place votes in the preseason poll.
Villanova moved up one spot to No. 5, with Wichita State, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina and Southern California rounding out the top 10. Saint Mary’s rose one spot to No. 21. WICHITA STATE 81, COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON 63 » Senior center Shaquille Morris had 18 points and 10 rebounds in just 22 minutes to lead the No. 6 Shockers (2-0) past College of Charleston (1-1). NOTRE DAME 88, MOUNT ST. MARY’S 62 » Bonzie Colson had 27 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks while No. 13 Notre Dame shook off a choppy opening half to roll past Mount St. Mary’s in the Irish’s home opener. USC75, NORTH DAKOTA STATE 65 » Bennie Boatwright scored a career-high 28 points, and the No. 10 Trojans (2-0) closed the game on a 13-5 run to hold off pesky North Dakota State. EX-COACH CAPEL JR. DIES » Former Old Dominion and Fayetteville State coach Jeff Capel Jr. has died, less than two years after being diagnosed with ALS. Fayetteville State Chancellor James A. Anderson said family members told him of Capel’s death Monday. He was 64.
Women
UCONN KEEPS TOP SPOT IN POLL » The UConn Huskies continue their run at No. 1 in the AP women’s poll.
The Huskies (1-0) routed then-No. 10 Stanford in the season opener Sunday. UConn once again received all 32 votes from the national media panel.
Stanford dropped to 14th after losing to Ohio State and UConn.
Cal remained at No. 20. UConn was followed by Texas, Baylor and South Carolina.
CAL’S CAYTON TO MISS SEASON » Cal sophomore guard Mi’Cole Cayton will miss the rest of the season after tearing her right anterior cruciate ligament in the Bears’ season opener, coach Lindsay Gottlieb announced.
Cayton had 13 points, two steals and two assists in Cal’s season-opening win over Saint Mary’s.
SOUTH CAROLINA 94, MARYLAND 86 » A’ja Wilson had a career-high 32 points and 12 rebounds, and defending NCAA champion South Carolina wit hstood a late charge by the No. 15 Terrapins to escape with a victory.