Moraga, Calif.-----Facing an opponent with a seven-game winning streak on their home floor, four of five San Jose State starters scored in double figures and the Spartans offset some first half foul difficulties to guard Adrian Oliver in an 87-78 loss to Saint Mary’s in the opening round of the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic.

“I’m proud of our guys. They played hard for all 40 minutes. We didn’t back down. This game could have easily gone the other way, too,” said George Nessman, the Spartans’ head coach after the team’s three-game win streak came to a close.

For the third game in row, guard Adrian Oliver led all players in scoring with 22, 20 of them in the second half. Oliver sat on the bench the rest of the first half after picking up two fouls less than eight minutes into the game.

The Spartans compensated with effective inside passing on the offensive end of which forward C.J. Webster was the beneficiary and a couple of baskets by reserve guard Mac Peterson, who was 2-for-2 from the field. Webster had 11 of his 15 points in the first half.

San Jose State built a 31-22 lead with 5:08 to go in the first half. Part of the reason the Spartans were ahead was their attention to Saint Mary’s guard Patrick Mills. Justin Graham drew the defensive assignment on the Gaels’ star. Mills missed all four of his field goal tries and made just two free throws with 3.6 seconds left in the first half to tie the game at 36-36.

In effect, Mills, who also had two first half fouls, and Oliver matched each other statistically for the first 20 minutes of the game.

But, it was Mills who got Saint Mary’s (11-1) going at the start of the second half with all four of his baskets in the game helping the Gaels take a 49-38 lead with 16:38 remaining.

“That’s why, he’s Patty Mills. With players on the elite level like him, you do all you can as hard as you can and that’s the best you can do. We did that all night. I know he scored 17, but he had to work for a lot of his points,” Nessman said about Mills, who was just 4-of-12 from the field. “He had a stretch where he dominated the game. That’s not surprising. Unfortunately for us, that’s why they had a workable margin in the second half.”

With 11:52 to go, Saint Mary’s still had an 11-point lead, 61-50, when Oliver answered for San Jose State with the Spartans’ next 11 of 13 points to cut the margin to 66-63. Most of the Oliver’s points in the rally came while being guarded by reserve guard Wayne Hunter. Mills reentered the game at that point and the Gaels turned their defensive focus to Oliver, who went five minutes without scoring. Saint Mary’s countered on offense dumping the ball into the post to forward Diamon Simpson and center Omar Samhan, who combined for 41 points, 21 by Samhan. Simpson, who had 20, pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds,

“Saint Mary’s is an outstanding team. They played with a little bit more toughness and a little bit more composure than we did. In the second half, there were some key moments when we had an opportunity to make a run or do something good, they answered almost every time. That’s why they are where they are,” said Nessman.

Both teams shot at least 50 percent from the field with San Jose State holding a slight edge at 51.6 percent to Saint Mary’s 50.0 percent. The Gaels capitalized at the free throw line making 24-of-33 tries compared to the Spartans’ 12-of-16.

“We weren’t capable of getting the defensive rebounds when we needed. To me the paper (stat sheet) lies, we didn’t get the rebounds when it mattered,” said Oliver about the Spartans outrebounding Saint Mary’s 35-33.

Both teams shot at least 50 percent from the field with San Jose State holding a slight edge at 51.6 percent to Saint Mary’s 50.0 percent. The Gaels capitalized at the free throw line making 24-of-33 tries compared to the Spartans’ 12-of-16.

Forward Tim Pierce and center Chris Oakes joined Oliver and Webster as double-figure scorers for the Spartans. Oakes scored 12 before fouling out with 1:56 remaining. Pierce added 10 points and pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds.

San Jose State will face William Jessup (6-9), a 70-68 loser to Morgan State, in the tournament’s consolation game at 5:00 p.m. in McKeon Pavilion.