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Without Mills, Saint Mary's visits Portland

Jan 31, 2009 - 11:20 AM No. 18 Saint Mary's (18-2) at Portland (14-7) 9:00 p.m. EST

Saint Mary's will be forced to bounce back from its first conference loss without its best player.

The 18th-ranked Gaels begin life without Patrick Mills on Saturday when they visit Portland.

In the first West Coast Conference game featuring teams ranked inside the top 25, Mills caught fire in the first half, scoring 18 points on six 3-pointers as Saint Mary's entered halftime with a 39-33 advantage over 25th-ranked Gonzaga.

However, Mills, the team's leading scorer who is averaging 18.7 points per game, did not play in the second half after fracturing two metacarpal bones in his right hand late in the opening 20 minutes. The injury is expected to take four weeks to heal and could keep him out for the remainder of the regular season.

The Australian Olympian was bumped to the ground by Jeremy Pargo on a drive to the basket and was forced to watch the rest of the game with his hand wrapped in ice as the Gaels (18-2, 5-1 WCC) dropped a 69-62 decision to the 25th-ranked Bulldogs.

Mills' absence will hurt against the Pilots (14-7, 5-1), who sit one game behind Saint Mary's in the WCC after winning five straight games, including a 69-55 victory over San Diego on Thursday.