Saint Mary’s Thrashes Cal Poly at Home
By Josh Horton
Remember what I said about the Gaels possibly getting a challenge from Cal Poly? If you need some refreshing (or you didn’t see it I suppose)…
"But it’s not like the Mustangs do not stand a chance against SMC; Cal Poly returns several key players from last season that can give the Gaels some fits."
I apologize for getting your hopes up, as Saint Mary’s completely dismantled the Mustangs on Saturday night, defeating Cal Poly 82-56.
Brad Waldow was once again a force for the Gaels, scoring a game-high 22 points – on an efficient nine of 13 shooting – and grabbing 13 rebounds to complete a double-double. Emmett Naar finished the game with a game-high eight assists in the victory. Desmond Simons, Kerry Carter and Naar all finished with double-digit points alongside Waldow with 14, 13 and 10 respectively.
The Gaels were fantastic from long range, connecting on 15 of the 29 3-pointers they attempted. In particular, Simmons (4-7 3PM-A), Kerry Carter (4-5 3PM-A) and Aaron Bright (2-3 3PM-A) were phenomenal from downtown in the win.
For Cal Poly, Daniel Nwaba was one of the few bright spots. The junior wing finished with 19 points, three rebounds, two steals and a block in the loss. Brian Bennett led the Mustangs on the glass with four rebounds while Maliik Love dished out a team-high four assits.
The Gaels dominance allowed two walk-ons, Jack Biebel and Treaven Duffy – to see action, always a special sight.
The score and the boxscore pretty much says it all regarding this game. The Gaels were the better team and they showed it on Saturday.
I predicted the game to be much closer (69-52), but Waldow and company proved me wrong. My bold prediction was even more off-base (Coleman leading the team in scoring with 16 points), as the Minnesota transfer did not even see any action today.