Six players scored in double figures Monday night as No. 23 Saint Mary’s opened its season with a 107-28 nonconference rout of Division II Stanislaus State in Moraga, Calif.
Mason Forbes came off the bench to score a game-high 19 points and grab seven rebounds for the Gaels. Aidan Mahaney added 15 points and five of the team’s 22 assists. Rory Hawke came off the bench to net 13 points in just 10 minutes.
Joshua Jefferson and Mitchell Saxen each tallied 12 points, with Saxen pulling down eight rebounds in 18 minutes. Harry Wessels contributed 11 points and eight rebounds in a reserve role as Saint Mary’s scored a whopping 57 points off the bench.
The Gaels made 56.5 percent of their field-goal attempts and went 22 of 29 (75.9 percent) at the foul line. They owned a whopping 59-22 advantage on the boards and earned an astounding 62-12 advantage in points in the paint. Saint Mary’s collected 23 points off 20 offensive rebounds.
John Wade III scored seven points for Stanislaus State, which played the game as an exhibition, its second against a Division I program in less than a week, following an 84-80 loss at Nevada on Wednesday. The Warriors made only 9 of 58 shots from the field (15.5 percent) against the Gaels and managed just one assist against 17 turnovers.
Wade sank a 3-pointer just over a minute into the game to give Stanislaus State a 3-2 lead. The advantage didn’t last long. Saint Mary’s soon went on a 13-0 run for a 21-7 lead when Alex Ducas splashed a 3-pointer off a turnover.
After Dontrell Hewlett made a free throw for Stanislaus State, the Gaels ended the half with a 29-3 run. Micah Boone’s 3-pointer with 7:47 remaining produced the visitors’ final points of the half. Saint Mary’s tallied 24 consecutive points, Forbes making consecutive jumpers in the last minute for a 50-11 cushion at the break.
The second half was simply more of the same as the Gaels enjoyed scoring runs of 12-0 and 16-0, the last one ending the game.
–Field Level Media
