MORAGA, Calif. (AP)—Omar Samhan’s dominant run through the West Coast Conference continued Thursday night, as the center led Saint Mary’s to a 76-49 victory over Pepperdine.
Samhan, a candidate for the Naismith Trophy Award, recorded his 18th double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds. He also recorded three blocked shots and became the all-time blocks leader at Saint Mary’s with 240, passing Diamon Simpson (239).
Matthew Dellavedova scored 17 points and was 5 for 7 from 3-point range in the victory.
The Gaels (23-5, 10-3 WCC) set the tone early by opening the game with a 12-4 run, and the overmatched Waves, losers of 10 in a row, could never catch up. Pepperdine managed just 17 points in the first half as the Gaels scored 34.
As dominant as Samhan was inside, the Gaels also wreaked havoc on Pepperdine (7-22, 9-10) from the outside. Saint Mary’s connected on 10 3-pointers
Mychel Thompson paced Pepperdine with 11 points.
