No. 23 Saint Mary’s rolls past New Mexico behind 25 points from Mahaney
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Aidan Mahaney matched his career high of 25 points and made five 3-pointers, and No. 23 Saint Mary’s avenged last season’s home loss to New Mexico with a 72-58 win over the Lobos on Thursday night.
The Gaels (2-0) dominated at both ends of the court and led by 22 before coasting over the final eight minutes to win.
Harry Wessels added 12 points, the only other Saint Mary’s player to score in double figures.
The win took a little sting out of the Gaels’ 69-65 loss to the Lobos a year ago, a victory that snapped Saint Mary’s school-record, 23-game winning streak at home.
This one wasn’t even close.
Mahaney shot 9 of 19 and grabbed four rebounds in his big night. It’s the third time in two seasons at Saint Mary’s that Mahaney has scored 25 points.
The Gaels never trailed, forced 13 turnovers, held a 41-37 advantage in rebounds and scored 17 second-chance points.
Donovan Dent had 15 points and five assists for New Mexico.
Two days after opening the season with a blowout win over Division II Stanislaus behind a stifling defense and steady perimeter shooting, the Gaels followed the same recipe early against the Lobos.
Saint Mary’s shot nearly 67% before the half and made four 3-pointers, all by Mahaney, while nearly doubling New Mexico in rebounds (25-13) and led 40-25.
BIG PICTURE
New Mexico: The Lobos fell behind by double digits early and never recovered. Two of the top scorers, Dent and JT Toppin, were in foul trouble for much of the second half, limiting their availability.
Saint Mary’s: Strong defense has historically been a staple of coach Randy Bennett’s teams, and this season is no different. The Gaels aren’t overly big but played solid interior defense and got a huge game from Mahaney. This was a big win but things won’t get easier with Weber State coming to town Sunday.
UP NEXT
New Mexico: Face Texas-Arlington Nov. 16.
Saint Mary’s: Hosts Weber State on Sunday.
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