Nov. 13, 2004
Berkeley, CA - E.J. Rowland notched his second career double-double to lead the Saint Mary's men's basketball team to a 61-52 victory in the California Regional championship game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic from Haas Pavilion on Friday night. Senior forward Jonathan Sanders was named the tournament MVP after scoring 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds against the Bears.
The victory over the Bears, which will send the Gaels to New York for the championship round of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, was capped by solid free throw shooting by Rowland. Rowland made 10-of-12 free throws in the game, and made 6-of-8 down the stretch to help secure the victory. Rowland notched his second career double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds. The last double-double for the senior guard came against Arizona when he had 17 points and 10 assists against the Wildcats.
Sanders, who scored 17 points in the win over Belmont Thursday night, averaged 17 points and six rebounds in the two games. Sanders went 7-of-13 from the floor against Cal, and converted 3-of-4 free throws in the game.
The pair of Sanders and Rowland were joining in double figures by Brett Collins as he sophomore, who was starting just his second game, poured in 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting. Collins also grabbed four rebounds and made all five of his free throw attempts, include two down the stretch when the Gaels held an eight-point lead with 1-minute to play.
Daniel Kickert played most of the game in foul trouble had eight points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots.
The Gaels made 19-of-46 shots form the field and struggled from 3-point range for the second straight night, making just 1-of-13 threes in the game. SMC had a great night from the free throw line making 22-of-26 (84.6 %) shots from the charity stripe. Saint Mary's also outrebounded the Bears by a 38-32 mark. The Gael defense held Cal to 32 percent shooting from the floor while allowing the Bears to make just 3-of-6 3-pointers.
In the first half, Saint Mary's never trailed over the first 20 minutes of the game. After the score was tied at 2-2 and then at 4-4, Saint Mary's held and 8-6 lead four minutes into the game. After leading by two, the Gaels used an 18-4 run to open a 24-10 advantage with 5:54 left until halftime.
In that run, the Gaels' defense held the Bears scoreless from the field for 10 minutes. The only two points the Bears got in a 12-2 run were two free throws by Richard Midgley at the 9:33 mark of the half. The Gaels led by as much as 14 points (24-10) but saw their lead get cut to 29-20 at the intermission.
Cal cut the SMC lead to 35-32 at the 13:19 mark of the second half, before the Gaels extended their lead to eight (40-32) on a jumper by Collins. The Bears got as close as 42-38 on a basket by Marquise Kately, but the Gaels regrouped and opened a 10-poinit lead with two minutes remaining.
Saint Mary's will return to action in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic against the winner of the Memphis vs. George Mason game, which will be played on Saturday. That game will take place on Thursday, November 18 in Madison Square Garden, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
