Feb. 22, 2002

Box Score

Moraga, CA - Ethnie Stubbs scored 21 points to lead the Saint Mary's men's basketball team (8-18/3-10 WCC) to a 68-59 victory over the Portland Pilots (6-21/2-11 WCC) on Friday night. With the win the Gaels move into sixth place in the West Coast Conference.

Stubbs was 10-for-11 from the floor en route to a game high 21 points. Stubbs was also dominant on the glass as he grabbed a game high eight rebounds. Joining Stubbs in double figures was Ryan Nelson who scored a career-high 13 points, coming off the bench. Eleven of Nelson's 13 points came in the first half. Nelson was 4-for-8 from the field and 3-for-6 from three point range. Chase Poole chipped in with 10 points.

The Pilots opened the game with leads of 10-0 and 14-2, but the Gaels ripped off a 16-point run to get back into the game, and eventually led 28-20 with 5:03 remaining in the half. Portland had an eight point run to close the first half down just 37-34, and tied the game at 37-37 early in the second half, but Saint Mary's went on a 20-0 run to lead 57-37.

Casey Frandsen led Portland with 16 points, and extended his streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer to 28, though it didn't come until 2:45 remained in the game. Coky Rochin added 12 points, and broke the Portland season free throw attempts record (209), hitting 4-of-6 at the free throw line. Rochin broke the former record of 207, set by Canaan Chatman in the 1994-95 season.

Saint Mary's was above 50 percent from the field for much of the game, but finished at 48 percent (26-54). Portland was just 15 of 49 from the field in the game - 6-of-25 in the second half - but hit 86 percent at the free throw line.

Saint Mary's returns to the court on Saturday when the Gaels host #7 Gonzaga. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at McKeon Pavilion.