The Saint Mary's Gaels completed a three game sweep of the week as they defeated the Portland Pilots 69-61 in a home contest. The victory improved Saint Mary's to 17-2 overall and 6-0 in conference play, giving them a 1 1/2 game lead on Gonzaga and BYU. The loss dropped Portland to 5-13 overall and 2-13 in conference play.
The Gaels were in a dogfight for much of the first half as Portland hung steady, sitting tied at the under-eight timeout. However, Saint Mary's went on a 7-0 run and never trailed by less than five after that. Stephen Holt was the star of the game for SMC as he scored 21 points, and added seven rebounds, five assists and five steals. Rob Jones added ten points, but nobody else got into double digits.
The Gaels are virtually a lock to get into the Coaches Poll Top 25 this week following their home victory over Gonzaga. Kansas State lost twice to likely join Gonzaga in falling out of the poll.