Gaels give the Dons the usual
St. Mary’s hasn’t lost a game in more than two months. USF hasn’t won in Moraga in 15 years.
The 13th-ranked Gaels looked every bit as dominant Thursday night as those first two sentences would lead you to believe.
St. Mary’s extended its school-record winning streak to 17 games with a 79-43 thumping of the Dons at McKeon Pavilion.
The Gaels’ last loss came against Georgia in Southern California on Nov. 26. St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett was asked if he has been able to take a step back and enjoy what his
team has done since that loss.
“No, not really,” Bennett responded. “The reason we haven’t lost is because we’ve stayed focused on the task at hand. That’s the only way I think you can do it.”
Opponents face an unenviable decision about how to deal with St. Mary’s center Jock Landale.
USF double-teamed him for much of the first half, and he settled for eight points but dished out three assists as the Gaels took a 38-21 edge at the intermission. St. Mary’s hit 8 of its 15 three-point attempts in the opening half.
After the break, USF played Landale pretty much 1-on-1. His response: 18 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half.
“Having a big man willing to pass the ball like Jock does just makes the game so much easier for us,” said swingman Tanner Krebs, who scored all 12 of his points in the first half, going 4-for-5 from long distance.
Said Landale: “Guys were hitting every single three-pointer, it felt like.”
Landale, the prohibitive favorite for WCC Player of the Year, finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds for his 15th double-double this season.
“Jock did a good job getting the ball out of double-teams,” Bennett said. “He’s a pretty unselfish player for a guy who scores as many as he does. He doesn’t really get hung up on how many he scores.”
The Gaels (22-2, 11-0 WCC) have beaten USF seven straight times and have won 24 of the past 25 meetings between the teams. The Dons’ last win in McKeon was a 68-67 decision Feb. 8, 2003.
On Saturday, the Dons gave Gonzaga all it wanted before the Zags prevailed 82-73 in Spokane. The Dons (12-12, 4-7) also made a strong showing against Gonzaga in a 75-65 loss on the Hilltop on Jan. 13.
No chance to describe Thursday’s night’s game in “moral victory” terms for the Dons. In fact, “no chance” accurately describes the evening for USF.
“They pushed us around,” USF head coach Kyle Smith said. “It was pretty obvious. I’m a little disappointed. You can get down. I don’t think we kept fighting. …
“We hung our heads. You can’t hang your head against a good team. They exposed us a little bit.”
Smith was Bennett’s assistant for his first nine seasons (2001-10) with the Gaels. Beating Smith and USF is somewhat bittersweet for Bennett.
“I hate it. I don’t like it at all,” Bennett said, referring to coaching against Smith. “I told him before the game. What are you going to do? You have to play the game. I don’t like competing against him or his teams. It takes a little bit of the fun off the win, honestly, for me.
“We want to be good, and it’s my responsibility to see how good our team can be, but I don’t enjoy seeing him on the other end of it.” Briefly: St. Mary’s has won 16 consecutive home games, tied for the third-longest streak in school history. The record is 19. … St. Mary’s guard Emmett Naar dished out a game-high eight assists. He came into Thursday leading the conference in assists per game at 9.1 . ... The 43 points were the fewest USF has scored this season and the fewest St. Mary’s has allowed . ... The Gaels and Dons meet on the Hilltop on Feb. 15.