Courtesy: Tod Fierner Omar Samhan logged his 16th career double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
San Diego, CA – The No. 22 ranked Saint Mary’s men’s basketball team extended its nation-leading win streak to 15 games following a 65-42 win over the San Diego Toreros from the Jenny Craig Pavilion. With the West Coast Conference win, the Gaels improve to 18-1 overall and 5-0 in conference play, and remain in first place in the conference standings.
The Gaels got the eighth double-double of the season and 16th of his career by Omar Samhan. Samhan led all players with game-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds, and was efficient in his offensive production, as he connected on 8-of-9 shots from the floor.
In addition to the low post play by Samhan, Mills added 12 points from the outside on 5-of-11 shooting from the floor, while hitting two shots from behind the arc. Fellow starters Carlin Hughes and Diamon Simpson finished the game with 10 and eight points respectively, and Ian O’Leary chipped in with seven points and seven rebounds.
For the second straight game, the Gaels shot better than 50 percent from the floor. After shooting 58 percent against Pepperdine on Saturday, SMC torched the Toreros, shooting 55 percent for the game, making 25-of-45 shots overall. SMC doubled up USD on the glass, grabbing 36 boards compared to 18 by the Toreros.
After USD scored the opening basket of the game, Saint Mary’s scored 13 straight points to open an 11-point lead just 4:30 into the contest, forcing Toreros’ head coach Bill Greer to use a time-out. After the timeout, the Toreros held the Gaels scoreless for four minutes, but were only able to score two points during that stretch. SMC hit six of its first seven shot, before missing on its next four during the drought.
The drought came to an end with a Samhan dunk at the 11-minute mark. With SMC leading 17-7, Mills hit back-to-back threes to give the Gaels a 16-point (23-7) advantage with 6:30 left in the half. USD finally reached the 10-point mark for the game when De’Jon Jackson hit a three with six minutes left in the half. Samhan then hit back-to-back buckets to extend the Gaels’ lead to 27-10 with four minutes until the intermission.
Saint Mary’s extended its lead to 20-points when Clint Steindl hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 on the clock, giving SMC a 30-10 lead. The SMC advantage was 32-14 at halftime. Saint Mary’s shot 59 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, while holding the Toreros to 24 percent, as USD connected on just 6-of-25 shots.
Saint Mary’s opened the second half like the first with a 9-2 run to extend its lead to 41-17 with 16 minutes left on the clock following a three by Hughes. San Diego cut SMC’s lead to 17 points with three minutes left to play, when Clinton Houston made a lay-up. The Gaels would extend its lead to 23 points (65-42) after a pair of free throws by Hughes to cap the evening’s scoring.
Saint Mary’s will return to action on Thursday, Jan. 29 when the Gaels continue West Coast Conference action at Gonzaga. The No. 22 ranked (ESPN/USA Today) Gaels will battle the No. 23 ranked (AP) Bulldogs in an 8 p.m. game from the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane, WA, and will be televised on ESPN2.
Courtesy: Tod Fierner
