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Saint Mary's begins road trip at Santa Clara

Feb 11, 2008 - 11:13 PM No. 21 Saint Marys Ca (20-3) at Santa Clara (12-10) 11:00 pm EST

SANTA CLARA, California (Ticker) -- No. 21 Saint Mary's is looking to stay atop the West Coast Conference as it kicks off a three-game road trip at Santa Clara on Monday.

The Gaels (20-3, 7-1 WCC), who are just 2-3 in road games this season, have won three straight contests to join Gonzaga (7-1) in first place of the conference. San Diego (6-1) is just one-half game back.

Saint Mary's is coming off an easy 76-51 victory over San Francisco on Friday as five players scored in double figures. Yusef Smith had a career-high 15 points off the bench to pace the Gaels and freshman leading scorer Patrick Mills added 10.

Santa Clara (12-10, 4-3) has alternated wins and losses in its last four games and is coming off a 52-50 victory over Portland on February 4.

Junior center John Bryant had 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Broncos and the 6-10, 300-pounder has posted 10 double-doubles this season. Bryant also leads the team in scoring at 17.6 points per game.

The Gaels defeated the Broncos, 76-45, in the first meeting this season on January 12 after losing all three contests to Santa Clara last season.