Balanced scoring pushes the Gaels past Pacific

The Gaels were shocked after an upset at Pepperdine. They made up for it tonight.

Saint Mary’s (18-5, 10-2 WCC) jumped out to a ten-point lead and never looked back as they beat Pacific 73-58. Balanced scoring from their starters was the most noticeable stat of the game. Waldow led the way with 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting. Carter, Simmons, and Naar also contributed double figures for the Gaels.

The three-point line was in Saint Mary’s favor tonight. They shot 12-of-22 from beyond the arc, which pushed the Gaels’ shooting percentage up to 54.5%.

Despite double figures from Taylor and Aquirre off the bench, Pacific (10-14, 2-10 WCC) was held to 42.6%. The Tigers had nine assists on 20 made field goals, while the Gaels doubled that number with 18 assists on 24 made shots.

The Tigers cut the deficit to five with 5:24 remaining in the first half, but the Gaels finished the half strong and went into halftime with 39-27 lead.

Saint Mary’s got their largest lead of the game with a 73-53 lead with 2:14 remaining in the game before Pacific made some free throws at the end.

The loss puts Pacific one game behind San Francisco in dead last. They have lost a season-worst five straight games, which started with a tough road loss to Portland. Three of those five losses have come on the road.

Saint Mary’s continues to hold on to second place in the WCC. Their hopes for finishing first are dwindling quickly though, as #2 Gonzaga remains two games ahead of them.

WHAT’S NEXT

Saint Mary’s travels to BYU on Thursday.

Pacific travels to San Diego on Thursday.