MORAGA, Calif - Junior guard Matthew Dellavedova scored 21 of his career-high 27 points in the second half to lead Saint Mary's to an 87-72 victory over San Francisco in a West Coast Conference (WCC) game at McKeon Pavilion on Monday.
Senior forward Rob Jones poured in 18 points and collected nine rebounds, while sophomore guard Jorden Page added 12 points, and sophomore guard Stephen Holt nearly posted a triple-double, scoring 11 points, dishing out a career-high tying 10 assists and adding nine rebounds.
Saint Mary's (15-2, 4-0), which won its 12th straight game over USF (10-8, 0-4), shot a season-high 67.3 percent (33-for-49) from the field, including 57.9 percent (11-for-19) from behind the 3-point arc.
Senior forward Angelo Caloiaro paced the Dons with 20 points, while sophomore guard Cole Dickson and junior forward Perris Blackwell scored 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Dellavedova, who made 9-of-13 field goal attempts, finished 6-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc, including three straight during a 54-second span that sparked a 9-2 Gaels run and gave Saint Mary's a 65-45 lead with 13:17 remaining.
Both teams began the game shooting well, with USF taking a 19-18 lead with 12:24 remaining following a three-point play by Caloiaro. However, that would be the last lead the Dons would have as the Gaels went on a 20-9 lead over nearly a nine-minute span to take a 38-28 lead with 3:03 remaining in the half.
Jones, the reigning WCC Player of the Week, led Saint Mary's with 10 first-half points, hitting on 4-of-8 field goal attempts. The Gaels shot a blistering 65.5 percent (19-for-29) from the field, including 46.2 percent (6-for-13) from behind the 3-point arc.
Caloiaro led all players with 12 first-half points, connecting on 5-of-6 field goal attempts, for USF which shot 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Saint Mary's returns to the hardwood on Thursday when it hosts No. 21 Gonzaga in an ESPN2 nationally televised game at McKeon Pavilion beginning at 8 p.m. The game also will be broadcast live on the Internet at SMCGaels.com with Mike Bouve calling the action.
