COL BKB: St. Mary's 65, Santa Clara 59

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Feb. 11 (UPI) -- A 23-point effort from Mickey McConnell Thursday led No. 23 St. Mary's to a 65-59 victory over Santa Clara.

St. Mary's had an 11-point lead heading into the final minute before fighting off a late Santa Clara charge.

The Gaels survived a stretch of 5 minutes without a point during the second half to win their fourth straight and maintain a lead of 1 1/2 games over San Francisco in the West Coast Conference.

McConnell made 8-of-13 shots from the field while his teammates combined to hit on only 10-of-35.

St. Mary's improved to 21-4 for the season and to 9-1 in the WCC. Santa Clara (15-11, 5-4) was led by Kevin Foster with 25 points.