San Diego Knocks Off Gaels With Early Run

David Siluvich scored 16 points and Eric Schraeder came off the bench to add 13 as St. Mary’s defeated the San Diego 70-63 Friday night.

St. Mary’s (13-5, 3-2) trailed 50-45 with 13:51 to go in the game, but the Gaels went on a 12-2 run over the next 4:25 to grab a 57-52 lead. Schraeder had four points during that run.

Down the stretch, the Gaels hit five of eight free throws in the final 45 seconds of the game. Brad Millard finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.

San Diego (10-7, 2-3) jumped on the Gaels early, taking a 40-36 lead at halftime. Brian Miles led the Toreros with a game-high 21 points, scoring 14 of them in the first half.

Sean Flannery added 17 points, including 13 in the first half.

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Santa Clara 82, San Francisco 67--The Broncos made seven of eight free throws and outscored the Dons, 11-2, in the final 2:14 of a West Coast Conference game at Santa Clara.

Marlon Garnett scored 21 points and freshman point guard Brian Jones tallied 17 points and 10 assists for Santa Clara (9-8), which moved into a four-way tie for first place in the WCC at 3-2 with Gonzaga, St. Mary’s and the Dons.

USF used an 8-0 run to take a 46-44 lead with 16:19 to play. But with the score tied, 49-49, Santa Clara needed only 1:18 to score 10 unanswered points for a 59-49 lead.

The Dons (8-9) lost to Santa Clara for the fifth consecutive time despite shooting 54.2% from the field.

The Dons used an 8-0 run to take a 46-44 lead with 16:19 left in the game. But with the score tied 49-49, Santa Clara needed only 1:18 to score 10 unanswered points for a 59-49 lead.

After Ward scored eight straight points to pull San Francisco within 59-57, Garnett answered with a 3-pointer and Jason Sedlock scored on an offensive rebound to pad Santa Clara’s lead to 64-57.

San Francisco never came closer than six points thereafter as the Broncos made seven of eight free throws and outscored San Francisco 11-2 in the final 2:14.

Jones scored 12 points in the first half, which ended with Santa Clara leading 39-32. It was only the third time this season Santa Clara has led at halftime. The Broncos have won all three of those games.

Santa Clara used a 10-0 run to transform an 8-4 deficit into a 14-8 lead six minutes into the game.

The Broncos were playing only their third home game of the season, and they’re 3-0.

College Basketball Notes

Ryan Fletcher, a University of Cincinnati player who admitted he threw a basketball into an unruly crowd during a game at North Carolina Charlotte Tuesday night, will be left behind when the Bearcats play at USC Sunday, Coach Bob Huggins said. A disturbance occurred immediately after the game when a section of students in the crowd of 9,105 at Halton Arena began taunting Bearcat players, then threw ice and sodas as the athletes entered a tunnel to return to their locker room. The climax came with players throwing basketballs into the stands in retaliation. Cincinnati won, 77-67. Fletcher said the ball he threw didn’t hit anyone. “It’s unfortunate that it happened,” he said. “It’s embarrassing. It really could have been avoided. It should have been avoided. We obviously should have not retaliated for what they were doing--throwing stuff at us.” . . . The incident prompted a formal reprimand of host North Carolina Charlotte by Conference USA. The public scolding was determined an adequate response, in part because N.C. Charlotte was apologetic about the incident involving 49ers fans.