Landale leads St. Mary to season-opening win

St. Mary’s was ranked 17th in the preseason, and that was with the understanding that Jock Landale wasn’t going to be the most dominant player in the Gaels’ season opener.

Landale came off the bench his first two seasons with St. Mary’s and made his first start in Friday night’s 81-63 victory over Nevada, enjoying a breakout game.

Using his 6-foot-11, 255-pound frame to have his way on both ends of the floor, Landale scored 33 points and grabbed nine rebounds, an unexpected but certainly welcome force.

Last year, Landale backed up Dane Pineau, a fellow Aussie who has a back issue and got off to a slow start in the preseason, which opened the door for Landale.

Pineau, a senior, collected six points and six rebounds in 12 minutes.

Overall, he was 15-for-20 from the floor and made his three free throws, becoming a newfound weapon for coach Randy Bennett.

The Gaels have high hopes after sharing the WCC regular-season title with Gonzaga and returning all their key players.

[...] back in the Bay Area was Yann Hufnagel, a Nevada assistant who was fired as an assistant by Cal last season amid sexual harassment allegations.