Feb. 5, 2005

Box Score

Portland, OR - Senior point guard E.J. Rowland banked home the game winning jumper with 11.2 seconds remaining in the game to lift Saint Mary's to a 73-72 win over the Portland Pilots in a West Coast Conference game on Saturday night. The win over the Pilots keeps the Gaels in a first place tie with Gonzaga. SMC is now 20-6 overall and 7-2 in WCC play.

With the game tied at 71-71, Pooh Jeter drove to the baseline and Paul Marigney was called for a blocking foul with 39 seconds left in the game. The foul by Marigney was his fifth of the game. Jeter, an 86 percent free throw shooter, missed the first free throw then hit the second attempt, giving the Pilots a one-point lead.

With time running down on the Gaels, Rowland drove down the left side of the key, where he hit a pull up jumper from the left block. Following the game-winning basket, Rowland's defense on the other end of the court helped preserve the victory.

Portland's Pooh Jeter tried to drive right past Rowland and just when it looked like Jeter would drive to the basket, he pulled up from 10 feet for a jumper. Rowland reached in and knocked the ball from Jeter's hands before the shot. Jonathan Sanders grabbed the rebound and heaved the ball to mid court. Portland's Ben Sullivan grabbed the loose ball at mid court. Sullivan's desperation shot from mid court missed badly, as the Gaels held on for a 1-point win.

Before fouling out of the game, Marigney scored a game-high 24 points. Marigney had an outstanding game from behind the arc, as he hit 6-of-8 shots from long range. Joining Marigney in double figures were Rowland with 16 points and Daniel Kickert, the reigning WCC Player of the Month, added 12 points. Blake Sholberg came off the bench and played big for the Gaels as he scored eight points and pulled down six rebounds, four coming on the offensive end.

After Rowland hit a shot at the first half buzzer, giving SMC a 37-35 lead at the half, Portland (14-10 3-6 WCC) started the second half with seven straight points to take a 42-37 lead. Portland still had a 59-52 lead with 9:50 left when Saint Mary's turned its focus to guard Marigney. After hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 14 points in the first half, Marigney was held pointless for the first 11 minutes of the second half. Marigney, who finished the second half with 12 points, had a key basket with 54 seconds left to tie the game at 71. The Gaels scored 11 of the final 14 points.

The win for the Gaels marked the 20th win of the season. The win marked the first 20-win campaign for Saint Mary's since finishing the 1996-97 season with 23 victories. Additionally, it's just the third 20-win season for SMC since joining the WCC in 1952.

Saint Mary's will return to WCC action on Friday, Feb. 11 when the Gaels play at Santa Clara. T he Gaels will look to avenge a 65-42 loss to the Broncos on Jan. 15 in Moraga. The game will also be televised on Fox Sports Net Bay Area beginning at 7:30 p.m.