Landale, Naar lead Saint Mary's past Pacific 74-56

Jan 5, 2018, 05:24 am

MORAGA, Calif. -- Jock Landale posted his ninth double-double of the season and Emmett Naar handed out a career-high 14 assists to propel Saint Mary's to a 74-56 victory over Pacific on Thursday night.

Landale finished with 13 points and 17 rebounds for the Gaels (14-2, 3-0 West Coast Conference). Landale accounted for 55 percent of Saint Mary's rebound total and he grabbed six of the Gaels' seven offensive boards. Evan Fitzner scored 16, Tanner Krebs and Cullen Neal added 11 points each and Calvin Hermanson scored 10 as the Gaels ran their winning streak to nine.

Jahlil Tripp had 16 points, five rebounds and five assists to pace the Tigers (6-10, 1-2), who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Namdi Okonkwo added 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and Anthony Townes scored 11.

Miles Reynolds hit a pair of free throws to give Pacific a 10-7 lead early, but Landale's 3-point play ignited a 13-0 run for a 20-10 Gaels' lead. The Tigers, who trailed 36-25 at intermission, got five points from Tripp in an 8-0 run to open the second half to pull within 36-33. But Landale and Jordan Ford had layups, Fitzner nailed a 3 and added two free throws and Saint Mary's pushed the lead back to double digits and coasted.