Winslow Townson / AP

Saint Mary's Omar Samhan reacts during the Gaels’ 80-71 victory over Richmond on Thursday. Samhan had 29 points and 12 rebounds.

“For some reason this season, I’ve been finding myself in foul trouble a lot,” said Samhan, who fouled out six times this year after doing it just three times in the previous three. “You have to play smart. Coach was fired up at me, and I was trying hard not to get any in the second half.”

But his absence didn’t slow down the Gaels.

They took a 12-point lead right after he went to the bench when McConnell faked forward and stepped back with the shot clock winding down, arcing a high 3-pointer into the basket. McConnell then fed Clint Steindl for a 3 that made it 65-50 with 7:32 left.

The fans, who spent much of the game yelling chants for the five Australians on the Saint Mary’s roster, began calling for Bennett to put Samhan back in the game. When he returned, with 3:14 to play, he immediately grabbed a rebound and then finished off a fast break with a dunk that gave Saint Mary’s a 72-59 lead.

McConnell went 5 for 9 from 3-point range in the game, and Steindl was 3 for 5 as Saint Mary’s went 8 for 19 from beyond the arc overall.

“After I got going they didn’t double team me. I haven’t seen that a lot this year,” Samhan said. “I’ve been doubled a lot. It was good. It’s hard to double with the four we have out there, because they can shoot it. They are the reasons I have good nights is the other four guys on the court opened it up for me, they’re shooting unbelievable from 3.

“I was surprised, but not really, because (Clint) and Mickey will make them pay.”

The Gaels, from Moraga, Calif., north of Oakland, had lost five straight NCAA games since 1959, when they beat Idaho State to advance to the round of eight in a 23-team tournament.

“That, and the fact that no one picked us to win this game was a bit of a chip on our shoulder,” forward Ben Allen said. “We hadn’t done this in 50 years. It was something we wanted to prove. We are a team that’s done so many things this season, and add that to the stack. So we’re advancing in the dance.”

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