Saint Mary's upends American U. 59-44

Dec 20, 2014, 12:23 am

MORAGA, Calif. -- Brad Waldow scored 17 points to lead Saint Mary's past American 59-44 Thursday night.

Waldow scored nine points during a 21-12 run to open the second half as Saint Mary's (9-0) built a 16-point lead.

The Gaels, who came into the game averaging 81.1 points per game, recorded their lowest scoring output of the season while committing a season-high 18 turnovers. They overcame that carelessness with the ball by dominating the glass, playing stingy defense and relying on their typically solid shooting.

Saint Mary's out-rebounded American 37-19, limited the Eagles to 41.9 percent (18 of 43) shooting and converted 22 of 41 (53.7 percent) of its field goals.

Both teams struggled from the free throw line as American made 5 of 11 (45.5 percent) and Saint Mary's converted 10 of 21 (47.6 percent) from the stripe.

Kyle Kager and Darius Gardner scored 13 points apiece for American.