MORAGA, Calif. — Mickey McConnell scored a career-high 24 points, Omar Samhan added 17 points and 16 rebounds and St. Mary’s beat San Diego State 80-58 on Monday night.

Freshman Matthew Dellavedova had 17 points and four rebounds for the Gaels, who lost to the Aztecs in the NIT quarterfinals last year.
Malcolm Thomas had 14 points and eight rebounds for San Diego State.
The game was part of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-Off marathon and didn’t begin until 11 p.m. locally. The game preceded the Hawaii-Northern Colorado game that started 11 p.m. locally, 1 a.m. on the West Coast, 4 a.m. on the East Coast.
But the late start didn’t bother the Gaels much.
St. Mary’s led by as many as 24 and got a huge lift from McConnell, who scored 20 in the first half and made a career-high six 3-pointers. Coach Randy Bennett’s hand-picked replacement for departed starting point guard Patty Mills, McConnell made his first five shots from beyond the arc, exploiting an Aztecs defense that consistently left him open at the perimeter.
Samhan, a first-team All-West Coast Conference pick as a junior in 2008, was equally strong in the paint and finished with his 24th career double-double while helping hold San Diego State center Brian Carlwell to six points and one rebound. Samhan also moved into third place on the Gaels’ career-rebounding list.
The Aztecs, who shot 21.4 percent in the first half, made a run at the Gaels after halftime and pulled within 61-49 on Billy White’s layup with 7:34 left. But Wayne Hunter made a layup, Samhan scored from the baseline and Ben Allen added a 3-pointer to help St. Mary’s pull away.
The Gaels finished with 13 3-pointers after making 12 in a season-opening win over New Mexico State on Friday. They reached double figures from behind the arc only three times last season.
St. Mary’s (2-0) also scored 28 points off 14 San Diego State turnovers while improving to 32-2 at home over the last three seasons.
San Diego State, which beat Division II San Diego 77-52 on Saturday, had won two of the last three games between the two teams at Moraga but couldn’t get any consistency from its offense. The Aztecs (1-1) made just three baskets after White’s layup and finished shooting 35.7 percent from the floor.
McConnell opened the game against the Aztecs with a 3-pointer then made three more 3s during a 20-3 run by St. Mary’s early in the first half.
San Diego State had no answer.
The Aztecs missed 12 of their first 14 shots and made only six field goals in the first half, while the Gaels had 8 3-pointers in the first 20 minutes.
McConnell’s fifth 3-pointer made it 32-12 and Dellavedova added another 3 to make it 38-15 with 2:47 remaining in the first half.
Kelvin Davis, playing in his second game after being treated for Hodgkin’s lymphoma which limited him to eight games in 2008, scored inside to cut the lead to 40-19 but McConnell answered with a 15-foot jumper as the Gaels took a 21-point lead into halftime.