SAN FRANCISCO (Interstat) — The Saint Mary’s Gaels used a dominant first half and a standout performance from guard Joshua Dent to secure a commanding 82-68 victory over the San Francisco Dons in a West Coast Conference men’s basketball game Tuesday night at War Memorial Gymnasium.

The most important part of the game was the opening 20 minutes, where Saint Mary’s established a tone of defensive control and offensive efficiency that San Francisco could never overcome. The Gaels raced out to a 42-28 halftime lead, holding the Dons to just 28 points on the strength of a stifling defensive effort that forced nine turnovers and limited San Francisco to 36% shooting from the field in the period. Saint Mary’s, meanwhile, operated with precision, shooting 50% from the floor and a blistering 6 of 10 from three-point range before the break.

That early cushion proved critical, as San Francisco mounted a more competitive second-half effort, matching the Gaels with 40 points apiece. But every push by the Dons was met with a response, primarily from Dent and forward Paulius Murauskas, preventing the home team from ever cutting the deficit to single digits.

Dent, a junior from Wollongong, Australia, led all scorers with 19 points and added seven assists, orchestrating the Gaels’ offense and consistently breaking down the San Francisco defense. Murauskas, a sophomore from Kaunas, Lithuania, provided a powerful inside-outside threat, scoring a team-high 21 points. The duo was complemented by a 14-point effort from guard Mikey Lewis and a 10-point, six-assist performance from 7-foot-1 center Andrew McKeever of Livermore.

San Francisco was led by Tyrone Riley of Watts, who scored 16 points, and Ryan Beasley of San Ramon, who contributed 15 points and seven assists. Junjie Wang of Xuzhou, China, and David Fuchs of Vienna, Austria, each added 10 points for the Dons.

Despite the Dons making 11 three-pointers to Saint Mary’s eight, the Gaels dominated at the free-throw line, making 22 of 25 attempts. San Francisco struggled profoundly from the charity stripe, converting only 5 of 13. Saint Mary’s also won the possession battle, scoring its 82 points on just 67 offensive trips for an elite offensive rating of 122.6, while San Francisco managed only 68 points on 70 possessions.

The victory improved Saint Mary’s to 17-2 overall and continued its strong start to conference play. The Gaels have now won four straight games since their last loss on Dec. 14. San Francisco fell to 12-8 with the loss, its second in the last three games.

Saint Mary’s will look to continue its momentum on the road at Santa Clara on Saturday. San Francisco remains at home to host Washington State on Sunday.

The game, played before a crowd of 2,784, saw the total points fall well under the betting over/under line of 140.5. Saint Mary’s entered as a significant favorite, with statistical models giving the Gaels a 72% probability to win.