Mitchell Saxen recorded 17 points and 10 rebounds and No. 17 Saint Mary’s survived a long second-half slumber to post a 62-59 victory over host San Diego in West Coast Conference play on Thursday night.
Aidan Mahaney scored 13 points and Augustas Marciulionis added 11 as the first-place Gaels (23-5, 12-1 WCC) won for the 14th time in 15 games. Saint Mary’s had a 23-point lead trimmed to three before defeating San Diego for the 18th straight time.
The Toreros scored the final 13 points of the game, and San Diego’s Neel Beniwal had a last-second, 70-foot heave carom off the backboard.
Nic Lynch scored a season-high 17 points and Beniwal added 11 for the Toreros (11-17, 4-10), who have lost three straight games and 11 of their past 15.
Outmanned San Diego played without leading scorer Marcellus Earlington and leading rebounder Eric Williams Jr. Earlington was a late scratch and the ROOT Sports broadcasting crew reported he sustained an injury in pregame warmups. Williams missed his fourth straight game with a foot injury.
Saint Mary’s held a 23-point lead with under 12 minutes left before the Toreros erupted for a game-ending, 24-4 run. A layup by Steven Jamerson II brought San Diego within 62-52 with 4:16 left before Jase Townsend’s jumper and Lynch’s two free throws cut the margin to six.
Wayne McKinney III drove for a layup to pull the Toreros within 62-58 with 32.3 seconds left. McKinney split two free throws to cut the Gaels’ lead to three with 4.2 seconds left.
Mahaney missed the front end of a one-and-one with two seconds left, but San Diego didn’t have time for anything other than Beniwal’s long toss.
Saint Mary’s missed its last 10 field-goal attempts while shooting 44.2 percent overall and making 8 of 24 from 3-point range.
The Toreros were just 6 of 24 from 3-point range while shooting 37.3 percent from the floor. San Diego committed just six turnovers while forcing the Gaels into 14.
Saint Mary’s led 39-20 at halftime, but San Diego trimmed the deficit to 13 four minutes into the second half.
The Gaels answered with an 11-1 run. Mahaney made two 3-pointers and Alex Ducas hit one as Saint Mary’s took a 54-31 advantage with 14:17 remaining.
Saxen’s basket with 10:20 left marked the Gaels’ last field goal and made it 60-40. Two free throws by Saxen with 7:05 left were the Gaels’ final points.
In the first half, the Toreros missed their last nine shots and the Gaels scored the final 14 points for the 19-point lead.
–Field Level Media
