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Senior guard Keith Carter scored 11 points and senior center
Vashil Fernandez had nine points, seven rebounds and six blocked
shots for Valparaiso (29-6), which had a 41-29 rebounding edge
while setting a school record for victories in a season.
The Crusaders rolled off 16 straight points during a nearly
nine-minute stretch to take control en route to improving to
17-1 at home this season.
Junior forward Dane Pineau led the Gaels (29-6) with 11 points.
St. Mary's scored just 13 second-half points while losing for
just the second time in 12 games. The Gaels shot just 33.9
percent from the field, including a paltry 20.7 percent in the
second half.
Valparaiso will face second-seeded BYU (26-10) in a semifinal on
March 29 in New York's Madison Square Garden.
The Crusaders trailed by seven points before embarking on the
16-0 run that turned a seven-point deficit into a nine-point
lead. Saint Mary's missed 10 consecutive shots during the
stretch, including its first eight of the second half.
Valparaiso took the lead for good at 32-31 on a 3-pointer by
senior guard Darien Walker with 18:47 remaining in the game.
Walker followed with a dunk, Peters scored on a layup, Carter
hit a jumper and junior forward Shane Hammink culminated the run
with a basket to make it 40-31 with 14 minutes left.
Pineau's layup ended the Gaels' drought with 13:37 to play and
he scored another basket to bring Saint Mary's within 44-39 with
9:16 remaining.
Peters knocked down back-to-back jumpers to make it 51-41 with
4:04 left and Gonzalez added two free throws and Carter buried a
jumper to make it a 14-point margin with 2:47 remaining.
Saint Mary's opened the game strong and used a 10-0 burst to
take a seven-point lead before Valparaiso erased it by scoring
the next eight points.
The Gaels later took a 31-24 lead on a layup by guard Emmett
Naar with 2:46 left in the half. Valparaiso scored the final
five points before the break as part of the game-changing 16-0
burst.
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