Moraga, CA – Saint Mary’s (10-2) outscored Dayton (5-6) by 17 points in the second half to continue their unbeaten home streak with a 69-54 win. The Gaels are now 7-0 at home.
Saint Mary’s was lead by senior forward Calvin Hermanson and sophomore guard Jordan Ford who took turns leading the scoring charge in the first and second half. Ford had 13 of his 16 points in the first half while Hermanson had all 17 of his points in the second half.
Senior Jock Landale had 14 points (7-of-9 FG) and 11 rebounds and proved to be a load for the undersized Flyers. To start the second half, Saint Mary’s ran two consecutive plays for Landale to eliminate weak-side help and feed him over the top for layups. That prompted Dayton coach, Anthony Grant to go to a 3-2 zone for a majority of the second half.
The Gaels disciplined offense responded to tear up the Dayton defense in the second half, shooting 6-of-11 on 3’s and 13-of-21 total. Saint Mary’s also picked up the defensive pressure in the second half, forcing Dayton to shoot 9-of-29 in the second half.
Dayton was lead by junior forward Xeyrius Williams who scored 16 points on 6-of-13 FG shooting. Dayton’s season leading scorers, Josh Cunningham and Darrell Davis, were largely ineffective against the Gaels, and both had one of their worst games of the season. Both average around 16 points per game on the season.
Davis was 0-of-11 from the field and didn’t score a point. Cunningham scored nine points on 3-of-7 shooting with eight rebounds. Cunningham was absent from the Dayton offense as Saint Mary’s did a good job of making his teammates take shots.
Kostas Antetokounmpo, younger brother of NBA star Giannis, came off the bench but only played 16 minutes because of foul trouble. He finished with six points on 3-of-9 shooting, five rebounds, two blocks, two turnovers and fouled out. His frame is very thin, but extremely long. At 6’10, 197 pounds, he was the longest player on the court and his length bothered Saint Mary’s. He showed good timing on his blocks and he was the highest to elevate and grab rebounds when he jumped. His game is still in its raw development stage but he had the highest ceiling of anyone on the court. He is far from being a playmaker, but he did flash the ability to make a play for himself off the dribble out of the high post, and he started the game with a tough turnaround jumper. His shot release is very slow and he hasn’t developed a shooter’s timing yet. He struggled to move his feet defensively in the post. His shot selection and decision making need work. He will be an interesting case to see how his raw state develops.
This article was written by Will Winston, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
Thanks to Saint’s Mary’s Athletics for the photo. We are looking for those interested in our basketball scout certification program. For information contact us and forward your resume.
