Saint Mary’s rolls past San Jose State

Land ale scores 22, Na ar has 12 assists as No .21 Saint Mary’ s leads all the way

SAN JOSE >> San Jose State hung around in the first half, but No. 21 Saint Mary’s eventually showed showed the gap in talent between the teams in a 7961 win Sunday night.

It was SJSU’s seventh consecutive loss against Saint Mary’s.

“I want what you guys want,” first-year San Jose State coach Prioleau said as he addressed the crowd post-game at the Event Center. “We’re gonna get there.”

The Gaels (4-0) opened the game on a 5-0 run and led the Spartans (1-4) from start to finish. The Australian duo of Emmett Naar (12 assists) and Jock Landale (22 points) gave San Jose State fits.

Landale was a matchup nightmare for the Spartans, constantly finding himself open around the basket as he towered over the smaller San Jose State squad. Prioleau tried to stop the 6-foot-11 senior by assigning defensive coverage to a pair of big men in Oumar Barry and Ashtin Chastain, but that only resulted in foul issues.

“I don’t know if he’s a first-team All-American, but he might be close,” Prioleau said of Landale. “He’s pretty good. Playing against a guy with that type of size, you’re gonna get in foul trouble a little bit.”

A 7-0 run midway through the first half which featured a corner 3-pointer from Noah Baumann, along with nine consecutive missed field-goal attempts by the Gaels, brought the Spartans within seven, but Saint Mary’s got hot again and finished the half with a double-digit lead.

Ryan Welage scored a team-high 20 points for the Spartans, and freshman Keith Fisher III was a consistent offensive presence, going 5 of 7 from the field and finishing with a career-high 14 points. Saint Mary’s outshot the Spartans 9-3 from 3-point range.