MORAGA, Calif. – If USF's first half against Saint Mary's was an indicator of how far a young Dons as progressed over the first two months of the season, the second half served as a stem reminder of the challenges in playing a nationally-ranked team on the road.
 
As a result, USF dropped a 66-46 decision to 21st-ranked Saint Mary's Thursday night in McKeon Pavilion. Freshman Charles Minlend took team-high scoring honors with 13 points while Emmett Naar and Calvin Hermanson scored 18 each to pace the Gaels.
 
The loss drops USF's record to 14-8 overall and 4-5 in the WCC while the Gaels improve to 18-2 and 8-1 in conference play.
 

USF led by as many as seven points at 23-16 with 6:53 left before the break. The Gaels used a 14-7 run to take a 30-27 lead but a three-pointer by Jordan Ratinho as time expired in the first half tied the game at 30.
 
The second half belonged to the Gaels. After allowing USF to shoot 52 percent from the floor in the first half, the nation's second-best defensive team limited the Dons to just 16 points on 29 percent shooting from the floor and posted its 23rd win in the last 24 meetings with USF.
 
The game was tied at 34 when Saint Mary's ran off eight straight points behind three's by Hermanson and Naar to take a 42-34 lead, forcing the Dons to take a timeout. A technical foul was assessed to the USF bench and Naar hit both free throws to give the Gaels their first double digit lead of night at 44-34. A layup by Dane Pineau extended Saint Mary's lead to 46-34, completing a 12-0 run.
 
The Gaels lead grew to 20 at 60-40 after Hermanson drained a three with 9:10 left and the Dons could get no closer than 16 points the rest of the way.
 
USF finished the game shooting 40.8 percent from the floor while the Gaels shot 57.4, including a blistering 65.2 in the second period.
 
"They guarded us really well in the second half and they put a quick run on us and we didn't have the right response," said USF head coach Kyle Smith. "If you're down eight to a top-25 team on the road you have to be really mentally tough and the game just went the other way. They tightened up and gained confidence and we couldn't answer."
 
USF will return to action Saturday afternoon when the Dons meet the Pacific Tigers at the Spanos Center beginning at 1:00 p.m. The game will televised in the Bay Area on CSNBA.