Saint Mary’s rolls past Richmond in opener
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Riding a dominating inside performance by Omar Samhan and timely outside shooting, St. Mary’s broke away from Richmond for an 81-70 victory, the school’s first NCAA Tournament win in 52 years.
Samhan scored 10 points in a row and 17 before halftime, finishing with a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Mickey McConnell added 23 points, including five 3-pointers for the West Coast Conference champions, who will face No. 2 seed Villanova on Saturday.
“I think a combination of [the history] and the fact that no one picked us to win this game was a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” Gaels forward Ben Allen said. “We hadn’t done this in 50 years. It was something we wanted to prove.”
David Gonzalvez had 18 points and Kevin Anderson had 16 for the Spiders (26-9), but the Gaels (27-5) had a 40-17 advantage on the glass that led to a 21-4 advantage in second-chance points.
Big minutes for role players
Seldom-used big men made significant contributions in each of Thursday’s first two NCAA Tournament games at Dunkin’ Donuts Center.
Villanova redshirt freshman forward Maurice Sutton (Largo High) had played more than nine minutes only once since early December before coming off the bench to make an impact against Robert Morris with his 6-foot-11 frame.
Sutton finished with four blocks in 17 minutes, one block shy of his career-high five set at La Salle on Nov. 28, including a key rejection on playmaker Karon Abraham late in overtime.
Meanwhile, freshman forward Beau Levesque had made such a minimal impression this season for St. Mary’s that Omar Samhan joked afterward, “Who came in for me?” when he was asked who had spelled him after getting into foul trouble.
Levesque, who averages less than two points and one rebound, played key stretches in each half, finishing with five points and five boards.
