SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Brett Collins hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer
midway through the third overtime and E.J. Rowland added four key
points down the stretch to help Saint Mary's beat San Francisco
81-77 Thursday night to clinch second place in the West Coast
Conference.
Paul Marigney scored 22 points, Frederic Adjiwanou had 15 points
and 15 rebounds and Daniel Kickert also scored 15 for the Gaels
(23-7, 10-3), who will get a bye into the semifinals of the
conference tournament, which starts next week.
John Cox led all scorers with 29 points for the Dons (14-12,
5-8), who lost their third straight home game. Jerome Gumbs added
14 and Johnny Dukes had 12.
Both teams had plenty of opportunities to win the game before
the Gaels took control down the stretch of the third overtime.
After Cox's bank shot tied it at 73, Collins made a 3-pointer with
2:01 left for his first points since the first half, giving the
Gaels the lead for good.
Jonathan Sanders drew an offensive foul from Cox on the next
possession. Rowland then got fouled as the shot clock was running
down and made both shots to make it a five-point game.
After Cox's 3-pointer with 1:05 to go cut it to 78-76, Rowland
made a tough floater in the lane with 32.1 seconds remaining to
make it 80-76.
Cox and Adjiwanou traded free throws and the Gaels held on for
their third straight win, bolstering their chances for an NCAA
tournament bid.
Rowland, who scored 15 points in a game-high 51 minutes, hit a
key basket in the second overtime to cut San Francisco's lead to
69-68.
Gumbs missed two free throws for the Dons with 1:19 remaining,
but Kickert missed a 3-pointer on the other end. Cox then drew the
fifth foul on Marigney with less than 20 seconds left but missed
both free throws.
Sanders drew a foul with 4.1 seconds remaining and made the
first throw to tie the game but missed the second, forcing the
third overtime.
Cox hit a game-tying 10-footer with one minute remaining in the
first overtime. Saint Mary's missed two shots on the other end but
the Dons turned it over with 6.6 seconds remaining.
Andre Hazel then stole the ball from Rowland in the backcourt
and missed a layup as he appeared to get bumped by Rowland.
With the Gaels trailing 54-50, Kickert made a tough turnaround
shot with just over a minute to go. Saint Mary's got the ball back
and Sanders made two free throws to tie it at 54 with 21 seconds to
go.
Tyrone Riler shot an airball at the buzzer to end regulation.
The teams were also tied at halftime after Rowland's 3-pointer
tied it at 28.