The Collegian

Issue date: 1/26/10 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Gorby Lingad Sophomore forward Clint Steindl goes up for a dunk in the first half of the Gaels 71-56 romp against the Toreros.

When San Diego forward Chris Lewis drilled a three to start the Toreros-Gaels game 3-0 in favor of the visitors, the Saint Mary's crowd quieted down.
Turns out they quieted down too quickly.
Saint Mary's proceeded to reel off a 23-2 run, including 11 straight made field goals in a eventual 71-56 romp by the Gaels. Center Omar Samhan led all scorers with 20 points, and also secured nine boards and four blocks. Senior forwad Ben Allen had 14 points, 11 boards and four assists, while junior guard Mickey McConnell finished with 14 points. San Diego was led by 11 points and six boards from Lewis.
"We went through a stretch where we we're just moving the ball really well and we got great shots," said McConnell. "Tonight we knocked them down and other nights they don't fall."
The streak of 11 straight field goals started with an offensive put-back from Allen. Freshman guard Matthew Dellavedova collected a defensive board and went coast to coast for a layup, and after another defensive stop by the Gaels' Samhan put in a layup of his own. Sophomore forward Clint Steindl then stole the ball from Lewis at half court, and threw down a vicious dunk that sent the rambunctious crowd into the decibels of a jet engine.
A three by McConnell put the Gaels up 23-5 before a missed layup from Allen skewered the run. "No one said anything," Allen said when asked about the run. "Our team doesn't harp on things like that… but thanks for bringing it up," he said with a smirk.
San Diego made some runs in the second half, cutting the Saint Mary's lead to 14 at 49-35 with 16:08 to go and again at 68-54 with 2:53 to go. But the Gaels repeatedly answered back and kept the Toreros out of striking distance.
"They never gave up," Allen said. "We always have to keep the pedals on the wheels a little bit. We relaxed a couple times and they got in below 20 a couple of times, so we need to work on that."
The Gaels shot 57.1% on the game, including 57.1% from the three point line, but head coach Randy Bennett still found fault in his offense. "I thought we played well the first half and I was proud of our guys," he said. "(But) we didn't take care of the ball the way we have been. We need to do a better job of that. We just had too many turnovers, too many careless plays." The Gaels finished the game with 19 turnovers to their 14 assists.
With the victory, Saint Mary's improved to 4-1 in conference and 17-3 overall for second place in the West Coast Conference. The Gaels head out this week for road matchups against two Southern California rivals, taking on Pepperdine on Thursday, Jan. 28th and then battling Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Jan. 30th.

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