The Saint Mary's Gaels had little trouble getting back on the winning track Thursday as they defeated the Portland Pilots 70-43 on ESPNU. The win, coupled with Loyola Marymount's upset loss to the San Diego Toreros allows SMC to clinch the number one seed in next week's WCC tournament. Gonzaga and BYU are squaring off tonight and the winner could still clinch a share of the WCC regular season title, but tiebreakers give Saint Mary's the edge for seeding purposes.
The Gaels put together a dominant defensive effort as they held the Pilots to only 18 points in the first half. They coupled that with a complete team effort on offense to get the easy win. Clint Steindl led five different players in double-digit scoring with 15 points. Rob Jones put together yet another double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds while Matthew Dellavedova filled up the box score with 12 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and 2 steals. Beau Levesque and MItchell Young each added ten points.
The Gaels will cross the Bay for their season finale on Saturday when they face the San Francisco Dons. USF is coming off a last second upset of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is looking to finish the season on a hot streak heading into the WCC tournament. SMC will look to clinch the entire WCC regular season title and ending Gonzaga's run of full or shared titles since 2000-01.