WCAC Tournament Roundup : St. Mary’s, Santa Clara Win

St. Mary’s wanted to make a statement in the opening game of the West Coast Athletic Conference tournament at San Francisco.

The 17th-ranked Gaels, showing that they won’t be satisfied with just the WCAC regular-season title, rolled to an 86-48 victory over Portland Saturday.

St. Mary’s plays Santa Clara in today’s semifinals.

“We wanted to let everyone know that we can play, that we came here to win the tournament,” said Al Lewis, who had eight of his 20 points in a 21-2 run at the start.

The Gaels (25-3) played without All-WCAC forward Erick Newman, who is recovering from a sprained knee. But his replacement, James Dailey, scored 16 points.

William McDowell scored 17 points for Portland (2-26).

Santa Clara 69, USF 64--Jens Gordon scored 13 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Broncos past the Dons.

USF (16-12), playing on its home court, took a 38-37 lead on two free throws by Kevin Ellis early in the second half, but Santa Clara (19-9) gained the upper hand and built an 11-point lead.

Mitch Burley had 18 points, and Jeffty Connelly added 17 for the Broncos. Joel DeBartoli scored 23 points for USF, and Mark McCathrion added 19.