Dec. 18, 2011
Box Score/
Photo Gallery/Coach Craig Post-Game
By Dan Ryan
B-CUAthletics.com
MORAGA, Calif. — Remember Saint Mary's and the rest of these West Coast Conference teams come NCAA tournament time for bracket busting. Bethune-Cookman coach Gravelle Craig hopes his team remembers the rebounding and physical play the Gaels exhibited in a 77-52 Continental Tires Las Vegas Classic victory Saturday in the cozy confines of McKeown Pavilion.
Jorden Paige scored 13 of his of 15 in the second half to lead four Gaels in double figures as the defending West Coast Conference regular season champs doubled up on the Wildcats in rebounding and were particularly dominant on the offensive boards.
Saint Mary's (8-1) outrebounded B-CU 43-21, with 17 of those boards offensive. SMC had 40 points in the paint and its bigs were a combined 10-14 from the field.
“Give up 17 offensive rebounds on the road and you'll have a hard time staying in the game,” Craig said. “We just got pounded on the boards. Second chance shots hurt. They take away possessions from you and give the other team more opportunities to score.”
The Gaels and fellow WCC member Gonzaga are both receiving votes in the national polls, just outside of the top 25. Saint Mary's went to the Sweet 16 two years ago.
“That's an NCAA tournament team,” Craig said of Saint Mary's. “We had a chance to see how hard they play and how physical they are.” B-CU (3-8) scored the first four points on an Anthony Breeze free throw and a Ricky Johnson three-pointer, but the Gaels scored the next 14 points to take control.
A Garrius Holloman dunk got it down to 21-15 with 6:32 remaining before SMC built its lead back up to 15. The Gaels led 36-24 at halftime.
Breeze led B-CU with 15 points on 6-12 shooting and also had a team-high five boards. Kevin Dukes added 11, including three from three-point range while Johnson had a season-high nine and Holloman eight.
The Wildcats play at Stanford Monday night.
NOTES: Raymoan McAfee and Javoris Bryant each got their first start of the season … B-CU has been outrebounded six straight games … Breeze has led the team in scoring three times.
