GAME 1

By Matt Vevoda
WoodenClassic.com

St. Mary's kicked off the 14th Annual John R. Wooden Classic presented by Toyo Tires with a 69-64 victory over San Diego State.

Tron Smith had a game-high 20 points for St. Mary's in their 69-64 win.

Led by senior guard Tron Smith, who scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half, the Gaels erased a 29-24 halftime deficit to improve their undefeated record to 7-0 on the season. Gaels freshman guard Patrick Mills added 15 points while junior Diamon Simpson netted a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds in the game.

“To come in here and play a good team like San Diego State and come out on top feels great,” St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said. “I told our guys this is like [the NCAA Tournament] a little bit. You play in an arena that’s this big. There was pressure there we haven’t felt so far this year.”

St. Mary’s struggled at Honda Center in the first half, shooting 33.3 percent from the field and going on a 5:58 scoreless stretch that began with 8:55 left in the half. The second half was a different story for the Gaels and a big part of that came from the play of Smith and Mills, who combined for 28 of the team’s 45 second half points.

Lorenzo Wade had 11 points and four rebounds for San Diego State in the loss.

“Tron Smith did a great job of coming out and being very aggressive in the second half,” said San Diego State junior forward Lorenzo Wade, who had 11 points in the game. “Mills did an excellent job of running his team.”

Smith did most of his damage from the free throw line, where he converted on 10-of-14 attempts.

“In the second half, everybody figured it out and picked their play up,” Smith said. “I just tried to calm everybody down, get good penetration and look for my teammates.”

Missed opportunities from the free throw line plagued San Diego State, as the Aztecs shot 8-of-18 from the charity stripe in the game.

“You’re not going to win if you don’t make free throws,” Fisher said. “When you get there, you have to be able to make them.”

Alongside John R. Wooden, St. Mary's holds up the winner's trophy after their victory in game one.

Kelvin Davis paced the way for San Diego State in the game with a team-high 19 points and the junior guard said after the game that the team can use the loss as a positive the rest of the season.

“We take this as a loss but as a plus for us to learn,” Davis said. “It hurts a lot, but I’d rather have this loss right now than later in the season.”