GAME NOTES: The 25th-ranked Saint Mary's Gaels pull into the Leavey Center for a West Coast Conference clash with the Santa Clara Broncos. Saint Mary's is 7-1 in WCC play, good for a first-place tie with Gonzaga. The Gaels recently beat the Bulldogs, however, and therefore hold the advantage. They have won their last three outings overall, including a 76-51 romp over San Francisco on Friday. As for Santa Clara, its 4-3 league record is good for sole possession of fourth place in the standings. The Broncos have won two of their last three games, and they have been idle since last Monday when they slipped by Portland in a 52-50 final. Saint Mary's crushed Santa Clara, 76-45, in the first meeting between the teams this season, but the Broncos still hold a commanding 130-72 advantage in the all-time series.

Saint Mary's has excelled at both ends of the court through the first 23 games of this season, as it is scoring 78.1 ppg while limiting the opposition to 63.7 ppg. A key to success for the Gaels is that they have featured the same starting lineup in every game thus far, a claim that can be made by few other teams. Patrick Mills is scoring 15.0 ppg, and Omar Samhan adds 12.3 ppg and 8.0 rpg. Diamon Simpson is also posting 12.3 ppg, and he is ripping down 9.2 rpg to go with 41 blocks. Saint Mary's connected on 51.9 percent of its field goal attempts against San Francisco on Friday and played solid defense as well. Yusef Smith led the Gaels off the bench with 15 points. Samhan and Tron Smith tallied 12 points apiece, while Mills and Simpson chipped in 10 points each.

Strong defense was obviously the key for Santa Clara in the win over Portland last time out, as the Broncos limited the Pilots to 32.7 percent shooting from the floor. A 13-7 edge in points from the foul line also helped the cause, as Santa Clara was able to overcome a 38-31 rebounding disadvantage. John Bryant scored 15 points and pulled down 13 rebounds for the Broncos, and Brody Angley added 14 points. Rounding out a trio of double-digit scorers was Mitch Henke with 11 points. Overall this season, Bryant is scoring 17.6 ppg to go with 9.4 rpg and 48 blocked shots. Angley, the team's point guard, checks in with 13.1 ppg, and he is dishing out 5.4 apg. The Broncos are netting a modest 64.5 ppg, but they are limiting opponents to 62.0 ppg on 41.6 percent shooting from the floor.

Go with Saint Mary's tonight, as the duo of Simpson and Samhan on the interior will be too much for Bryant to handle. Still, expect this meeting to be much closer than the first last month.