Gaels ‘came out hot,’ never cooled off
St. Mary’s surely seemed prepared for its WCC opener against Loyola Marymount on Thursday night at McKeon Pavilion.
As for the Lions? Well, the Gaels surely seemed prepared.
St. Mary’s did not trail and led by double digits for the final 34:52. The Gaels extended their winning streak to seven games without having to extend their starters’ minutes.
The Gaels prevailed 87-59 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates.
“I was glad and I was surprised that we were able to separate early and keep it there,” St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett said.
Senior center Jock Landale had game highs of 21 points and nine rebounds. He came into Thursday averaging 21.2 points and 9.6 boards.
Sophomore guard Jordan Ford had 17 points, as he went 4-for-6 from three-point range. Senior forward Calvin Hermanson scored all 12 of his points in the first half as he hit on 4 of 5 from beyond the arc.
“Tonight was one of those nights,” Hermanson said. “We just came out hot. Shots were falling all over the place.”
The Gaels went 31for-50 from the floor, including 10-for-16 from beyond the arc.
St. Mary’s (12-2) has beaten the Lions 12 straight times and has won 23 of the past 24 meetings.
The Gaels scored the game’s first 11 points: Three-pointers by Ford, Hermanson and Tanner Krebs preceded a twopoint jumper by Krebs.
At that point, the good folks in McKeon could have been contemplating getting home in time for their favorite 9 p.m. TV show. There clearly wasn’t any drama left in the game that tipped off a little after 8.
A three-pointer by Ford at the midway point of the half upped St. Mary’s advantage over the Lions to 30-7. Actually, it was Gaels 30, Eli Scott 7. LMU’s reserve forward had scored all of his team’s points.
The half ended on a fitting note. Emmett Naar drove the lane and then passed the ball back to Hermanson, who drained a buzzer-beating three. Make it, St. Mary’s 44, LMU 18.
Some first-half numbers to illustrate the Gaels’ domination: St. Mary’s went 8-for-13 from beyond the arc. LMU (5-7) went 1-for-11. St. Mary’s had almost as many assists (14) as the Lions had points.
Most of the fans did stick through halftime, and the Gaels rewarded them early in the second half.
Naar appeared to be in a bad spot in the right corner. With a lot of creativity, he turned that bad spot into an assist. The senior point guard threw a bounce pass between the legs of Mattias Markusson, LMU’s 7-foot-3 center, directly to Landale for a layup. Naar finished with eight assists.
Clark out for season: St. Mary’s junior Kyle Clark had knee surgery last week and will miss the rest of the season. The forward from Australia sat a few feet from the Gaels’ bench with his right leg immobilized. He had been projected to be the Gaels’ starting power forward, but has played in only three games, all as a reserve. Clark initially hurt the knee just before the season began. He’ll probably apply for a medical redshirt.