Randy Bennett earned his 500th win as St. Mary’s coach when 18th-ranked Gail notched its 11th straight victory over San Francisco 68-59 on Thursday night.
Alex Dukas had 18 points and Aiden Mahne scored 13 of his 17 points in the second half to lead the Gaels (20-4, 9-0 West Coast Conference) to a milestone night for Bennett.
But his focus was on beating a neighborhood rival and being perfect in conference play.
“It’s really hard to think about it any other way right now,” Bennett said. “Over time you’ll reflect back, and you’ll have memories of the players and the coaches. That’s why we’re sitting here. We have really good players, really good assistant coaches and great administration, and I work in a great place.” am.”
Bennett took over a team coming off a 2–27 season in 2001 and built Saint Mary’s into one of the most consistent winners on the West Coast for more than two decades at the small school in the San Francisco suburbs.
Gayle has won at least 20 games in 15 of the last 16 seasons — missing only the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season — and his 500 wins is the sixth most among active coaches at his current school.
“It’s special,” he said of winning 500 games at a school. “It’s hard to do. It’s good to do it in one spot, so hopefully we get some more. I’m glad it happened in one spot.”
Khaleel Shabazz scored 16 points and Marcus Williams added 15 for San Francisco (15-10, 4-6).
The Dons had won three matches in a row since losing at home to St. Mary’s the previous month, but struggled down the stretch and lost the rematch.
“Some minor mistakes like offensive rebounds,” Williams said. “It comes down to tough plays and mental toughness. For some reason we just couldn’t nail it down.”
San Francisco trailed by 13 in the second half, but went on a 12–0 run fueled by a pair of 3-pointers from Williams to take a 50–49 lead with less than six minutes remaining.
But Gayle responded and scored eight straight points from Mahaney’s 3 that made it 61–55 with 1:45 to play.
He sealed it at the free throw line and then celebrated with a photo of Bennett and his players at midcourt—followed by an ice-cold shower in the locker room.
“It’s beautiful,” said guard Logan Johnson. It’s an honor for him to be the point guard right now.”
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half, going almost five minutes without a shot from the field.
But Gale managed to get to the foul line repeatedly, made 11 of 12 free throws, and led 36–27 at the break after Johnson hit a 3-pointer in the closing seconds.