Jock Landale had 34 points and tied his season high with 18 rebounds — he had a double-double by halftime — and the No. 13 Saint Mary's Gaels held off San Diego 65-62 on Saturday night to extend their school-record winning streak to 18.
The Gaels (23-2, 12-0 West Coast Conference) have the nation's second-longest winning string. No. 3 Purdue won its 19th straight on Saturday, 78-76 at Rutgers.
The Gaels led 36-24 at halftime and continued to lead by double digits until the Toreros slowly closed the gap late in the game.
Tyler Williams hit three 3-pointers and Isaiah Wright hit two 3s down the stretch for USD (15-9, 6-6).
Landale powered into the key for a layup and Jordan Ford hit a runner on the baseline, both shots keeping the Gaels' lead at four points.
The closest USD got was 63-62 on Wright's 3-pointer with 11.2 seconds left. Emmett Naar was fouled and made both shots. Wright missed a 3 just before the buzzer and Calvin Hermanson rebounded.
Landale, a 6-foot-11 senior, had his 16th double-double of the season. He was three points shy of his season-high.
Pineiro scored 24 points, Williams 12 and Wright 10.
Saint Mary's trailed 14-9 when it went on a 17-1 run that included nine points by Landale, including a jumper to start the run and a 3-pointer. Hermanson hit a jumper with 5:21 left before halftime to give the Gaels a 26-15 lead.
USD had gone cold, missing 12 straight shots before Pineiro made a jumper with 2 ½ minutes before halftime.
BIG PICTURE
Saint Mary's: The Gaels haven't lost since Nov. 26, when they were defeated 83-81 in overtime by Georgia in the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton.
San Diego: The scrappy, undermanned Toreros played the Gaels tough early and had leads of 11-5 and 14-9. But Landale proved to be too much. So, No. 14 remains the highest-ranked team USD has ever beaten, when it won at UCLA in overtime on Nov. 26, 2002.
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's visits Loyola Marymount on Thursday night.
San Diego visits Pepperdine on Thursday night.
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