No. 23 Saint Mary's 100, Pepperdine 64

2/19/2008 12:25 AM

MALIBU, Calif. (AP) -It cames as no shock to Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett that his team would have a record breaking night from behind the 3-point line.

Patrick Mills scored 18 points, Todd Golden added 15 and 10 assists, and No. 23 Saint Mary's hit a school record 17 3-pointers in a 100-64 win over Pepperdine on Monday night.

The Gaels (23-3, 10-1) went 17-for-29 from beyond the arc.

``Shoot those 3s,'' Bennett said. ``The law of averages played out for us.''

Saint Mary's used a 19-2 run in the first half to put the game away. The Gaels led by 30 at the half and never looked back. Saint Mary's hit 10 3-pointers in the first half and the Waves were 0-for-10.

``We definitely did not set out to break it - it just happened,'' Mills said.

Malcolm Thomas had 11 points and 11 rebounds and Rico Tucker added 10 points for Pepperdine (9-18, 3-8).

Saint Mary's shot a season-high 58.6 percent (34-for-58) from the field and outrebounded the Waves 43-31.

Trailing early on, Saint Mary's went on a 19-2 run to take a 21-6 lead with 12:31 left in the first half. The Waves scored the next seven points, but then the Gaels used a 15-2 spurt to take a 21-point lead with 5:58 left in the half.

Saint Mary's then continued its onslaught, extending the advantage to 53-21 on two free throws by Todd Golden.

``We're pretty good when we get a team down,'' Bennett said. ``We have a balanced attack.''

Lucas Walker hit the record-breaking 3-pointer with 6:41 left in the game.

``Not shocking,'' said Carlin Hughes, who hit four 3-pointers. ``We knew the open shots were coming no matter what.''

It was the first time Saint Mary's scored 100 points since putting up 104 against Pepperdine on Feb. 28, 2004.

It's the second straight game Saint Mary's has beaten an opponent by more than 30 points. The Gaels routed Loyola Marymount by 31 on Saturday.

``We're putting a message out there,'' Hughes said.