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Moraga, Calif. • McKeon Pavilion is a tiny, somewhat dumpy, old cracker box of a gymnasium that seats 3,500 and provides as intimate a setting as there is in college basketball.

It's also a shooter's gym, as the homestanding, No. 19-ranked Saint Mary's proved to BYU again on Thursday night in a key matchup of West Coast Conference leaders.

The Gaels shot a blistering 41.7 percent from 3-point range and 56.4 percent from the field and blew past BYU 81-68 to keep pace with undefeated Gonzaga for the league lead. BYU fell to 2-1 in WCC play, 11-5 overall.

"There were pieces of this game that were really good for us," Cougars coach Dave Rose said. "But it just wasn't a 40-minute effort."

That was clear during a three-minute stretch in the first half when the Gaels (3-0, 13-1) put together a 13-0 run to break from a 20-20 tie.

"We thought we could come of with a couple of things [to stop them]," Rose said. "But they found another thing. That's a really efficient team, a really effective team offensively."

In the battle of two of the best post players in the West, BYU's Eric Mika had 28 points and 10 rebounds to 26 and 9 for SMC's Jock Landale, but the latter player had more help.

"If we could have chopped off or stopped one of those runs, it could have been big-time," Mika said, lamenting how the Cougars would play solid defense the first half of the shot clock, then watch the Gaels get it done in the last 10 seconds of a possession.

Saint Mary's led the entire second half after leading by 11 at the break. Every time the Cougars would creep close, the Gaels had an answer, usually in the form of a 3-pointer or an inside bucket by Landale, who was 11 of 13 from the field. Saint Mary's also won the rebounding battle 37-27, and scored 10 points off offensive rebounds after rare misses.

The Cougars were right there with the Gaels through the first eight minutes of the first half, and when Elijah Bryant made his first appearance since Nov. 23 and promptly made a driving layup, the score was tied at 20. Bryant, who wasn't expected to play as he returns from knee soreness, was the only Cougar in double figures besides Mika and finished with 11.

"I'm back to 100 percent. I feel great," Bryant said.

The Cougars cut the deficit to five several times in the second half, but got no closer as Saint Mary's continued to shoot well and BYU couldn't keep up.

Guards TJ Haws and Nick Emery combined to go 6 of 18 from the field, and Bryant was 4 of 12.

"We needed to have more composure," Dave Rose said. "The young guards got excited in the second half and tried to force some things."

The Cougars' bench outscored the Gaels' bench 16-7, but SMC unleashed its shooting weapons throughout the contest, as Calvin Hermanson, Emmett Naar and Joe Rahon were the beneficiaries of some pinpoint passes out of the post by Landale, who had six assists. Hermanson's 15 points and Naar's 17 were huge, especially a 5-0 run Hermanson went on himself at the end of the first half when BYU was crawling back in it.

The Cougars took care of the ball well in the first half, committing just two turnovers, but were out rebounded 17-10 and had no answer defensively for one of the most efficient offensive teams in the country. They finished with just three turnovers, but SMC's offensive efficiency was too much to overcome.

"I thought it was a high-level game," said SMC coach Randy Bennett. "We were scoring but we couldn't stop them. I thought Mika hit tough shots all night. He's good."

Landale and Gaels were just better, at least on this night. They finished shooting 55.4 percent and were 10 of 25 from 3-point range after going 6 of 13 from beyond the arc in the first half. Mika played 29 minutes, despite not being in foul trouble for a rare time this season. He didn't score in the final 11 minutes, and watched some of that from the bench.

Rose said his 6-10 sophomore center wasn't winded.

"We're trying to find that next guy," he said.

Bennett didn't have that problem.

Twitter: @drewjay