Saint Mary's 93, Western Carolina 82

MORAGA, Calif. (AP) -- Wayne Hunter and Ian O'Leary combined for 41 points and hit 10 straight free throws as Saint Mary's scored a 93-82 victory over Western Carolina in its Shamrock Classic on Thursday.

Hunter and O'Leary both had season highs with 21 and 20 respectively for Saint Mary's (7-8), which snapped a four-game losing streak. The Gaels, who connected on 14 of 15 free throws in the final 1:22, did not score from the floor in nearly the last four minutes.

Western Carolina (5-7) cut what had been an 18-point Saint Mary's lead to 80-75 before the Gaels iced the game at the line. Saint Mary's had been only 13-for-22 from the line up to that point.

Both teams wound up shooting an identical 30-of-52 from the floor, with Western Carolina hitting 9-of-17 3-pointers, while Saint Mary's was 6-of-14 from beyond the arc.

Saint Mary's began to edge away late in the first half, building a 43-36 halftime advantage as O'Leary and Diamon Simpson both scored 11 points. The Gaels came out strong in the second half, holding Western Carolina to only two field goals through the first seven minutes.

Western Carolina then mounted its comeback behind freshmen Nick Aldridge, who had a career-high 28, and Jake Robinson, who had 18, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range, before the Gaels slipped away.

Negus McKenna finished with 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 shooting night from the floor, and Antonio Russell had 10 for Western Carolina.

Simpson ended with 17 and Todd Golden 13 for Saint Mary's.