. Jordan Ford scored 13.The Gaels have won three straight since their school-record 19-game winning streak ended with back-to-back losses.A matchup of the top two scorers in the WCC fizzled out quickly when Santa Clara's KJ Feagin limped off the court with a sprained left ankle with 7:16 left in the first half. He did not return.Landale had an uneven game in his final appearance at McKeon Pavilion. He missed five of his first nine shots and at times looked uncomfortable in the paint against 267-pound Santa Clara center Emmanuel Ndumanya before helping the Gaels pull away in the second half.The conference's top scorer and rebounder, Landale scored 10 points and had a pair of dunks in the second half, including one that put Saint Mary's up 56-34.The Gaels struggled from the perimeter but made up for it in the backcourt. Naar, the Gaels' career assist leader who has been nursing a sore left ankle for the past week, had only one against Santa Clara (11-19, 8-10) but repeatedly scored on drives through the lane.Ford also gave the Broncos problems and provided the game's signature moment when he flipped the ball off the glass and in with his left hand after driving past a pair of defenders.Henry Caruso had 14 points and seven rebounds for Santa Clara.The Broncos, who lost to the Gaels 81-57 in January, struggled to get anything going without Feagin. Santa Clara went scoreless for nearly eight minutes in the first half and shot 23.5 percent for the game.TIP-INSSanta Clara: Feagin had four points on 2-of-7 shooting when he got hurt and appeared to get emotional on the bench after being examined by a team trainer. The junior guard had been averaging 23.5 points over the previous four games. Ndumanya also went down late in the second half after a hard fall on the court but walked off on his power.Saint Mary's: Hermanson went 2 for 2 on 3-pointers. The rest of the Gaels were a combined 1 of 8 beyond the arc.UP NEXTThe West Coast Conference tournament begins March 2 in Las Vegas. Saint Mary's is assured of a first-round bye, while Santa Clara's opponent has yet to be determined. The Broncos went into the day tied for sixth place with San Diego.---More college basketball: https://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/-Top25)
Feb 23, 2018 With one game left in the regular season, Saint Mary's still has a chance to claim a share of the West Coast Conference title with Gonzaga, but the Gaels are going to need some help from BYU.The Bulldogs travel to Provo to face the Cougars while Santa Clara visits the No. 22 Gaels in Moraga, Calif., on Saturday. Should the Bulldogs falter and Saint Mary's wins, both teams would be left with 16-2 records in the WCC.Forward Calvin Hermanson said the Gaels (26-4, 15-2 WCC) aren't looking ahead to what might be and will try to control what they can."We are moving on right now, trying to get better, taking it one game at a time," Hermanson told sfgate.com after scoring 14 points in Thursday's win over Pepperdine. "We are worried about Santa Clara on Saturday. We still have that one to go before the conference tournament." In their first meeting on Jan. 21, the Gaels had their way in beating the Broncos 81-57. Jock Landale recorded 19 points and 10 rebounds. Emmett Naar finished with 11 assists."I think we can play better than we did, but you would quickly have to add Saint Mary's makes it difficult for you to play your best," Santa Clara head coach Herb Sendek said after that loss. "They're awfully good." Pepperdine also knows exactly how good the Gaels are. Saint Mary's beat the Waves on Thursday for its second straight win after losing back-to-back games to Gonzaga on Feb. 10 and San Francisco on Feb. 15.The Gaels were ranked No. 11 and had won a school-record 19 straight games before being blitzed at home by Gonzaga.Head coach Randy Bennett got even better news at tip-off when Naar, the all-time school leader in assists, stepped on the court. Naar injured his left ankle against Portland on Feb. 17 and his status was in doubt.Bennett didn't expect Naar to play."He was going to warm up and see how it felt," Bennett said. "He hadn't done anything, hadn't practiced with us or anything. ... I think he helped us confidence-wise." Naar played only 14 minutes, collecting three points and six assists. But he wasn't needed as the Gaels had a 20-point halftime lead and led by as many as 27 points in the second half.Jordan Ford scored 18 points and had a career-high 10 rebounds. Ford and former Ole Miss/New Mexico guard Cullen Neal ran the point in place of Naar, and Bennett had to like what he saw."I came out and hit my first couple shots and from there it just kept rolling, so it felt pretty good," Ford said. "I put myself in the right position, and since guys hustled back on defense I was able to steal rebounds from the big guys." While the Gaels have won two straight, Santa Clara (11-18, 8-9) saw its three-game win streak come crashing down in heartbreaking fashion against Loyola Marymount on Senior Night.KJ Feagin scored 29 points, including the final 11 for the Broncos in a 65-64 loss. Feagin had a chance to win the game for Santa Clara, but his last-second 3-point shot was off target.Henry Caruso, one of four seniors being honored, compiled 11 points and 14 rebounds in his final home game.Kai Healey, another senior tied a season-high with 12 points. Despite the loss, the Broncos are a confidant bunch."It was a tough start to the season for us, especially in conference," Healey told the team's website, adding that the recent win streak has given the Broncos a "different sense and feeling. We feel pretty good and it's about to click. Anything can happen come conference tournament."We'll go out there and give it our all."
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