MORAGA, Calif. – Southeastern Louisiana could not overcome a hot Saint Mary's squad as the 25^th-ranked Gaels pulled away to an 89-45 victory in the first round of the National Invitation Tournament Tuesday night in McKeon Pavilion.

    Saint Mary's (29-5) shot 59.3 percent from the field, including 54.2 percent in hitting 13 3-pointers. The top-seeded Gaels will play the winner of No. 4 Boise State and No. 5 Washington in the second round March 16-19.

    Eighth-seeded Southeastern, playing in its first NIT and second postseason tournament since joining Division I, finished the season at 22-12. The Lions concluded the season with the second-most wins in school history and their most Southland Conference victories on their way to a share of the league's regular season title.

    Senior forward Jordan Capps concluded his Southeastern career with team highs of 19 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Eddy Polanco and junior forward Moses Greenwood each had six points apiece. The Lions shot 35.2 percent, including 5.0 percent (1-of-20) on 3s.

    Jock Landale had a game-high 26 points for Saint Mary's. Jordan Ford contributed 19 points and Calvin Hermanson 17. Tanner Krebs pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.  

    Hermanson (17) and Landale (16) combined for 33 points as Saint Mary's took a 43-19 lead into the half.

    Landale converted a three-point play and Hermanson hit a 3 during an 8-0 run that gave Saint Mary's a 15-4 lead at the 4:16 mark of the first quarter. After Capps ended a 3:29 scoring drought for the Lions with a layup, Landale took passes inside for a layup and a dunk as the Gaels took a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

    Junior guard D'Angelo West opened the second quarter with a 3 for Southeastern. But Saint Mary's countered with an 11-0 run, taking a 30-11 lead as Ford beat the shot clock with a 3 from the right wing with 6:36 remaining in the half. Capps again broke the scoreless spell with a layup at the 4:12 mark but a Hermanson 3 and two Landale free throws put the Gaels up 36-13 with 4:28 left. Hermanson then beat the buzzer with a 3 from the left corner to give Saint Mary's the 24-point halftime margin.

    The Gaels shot 61.5 percent from the field in the half while holding Southeastern to 34.6 percent.

    Saint Mary's opened the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 54-21 lead on an Emmett Naar 3 with 6:30 left in the third quarter. Southeastern scored five straight points to pull to within 28 on a Capps layup at the 4:51 mark. But the Gaels came back to take a 68-34 lead at the end of the quarter as Evan Fitzner knocked down a 3 from the right corner at the buzzer.
 
NOTES
   Southeastern played its school-record 34^th game of the season. The 2004-05 and 2015-16 teams each played 33 games. Junior guards Marlain Veal and Keith Charleston both played in all 34 with Veal starting every game.
 
   Southeastern played a team ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since losing at No. 9 Gonzaga, 76-57, on Dec. 2, 2014.
 
   Southeastern was held to its fewest points since a 64-45 loss at Nicholls on March 5, 2016. The 19 first-half points were the fewest in a half by the Lions in 2017-18.