MORAGA, Calif. -- Calvin Hermanson missed only one shot Saturday, but it was that lone misfire that stuck with him after he led No. 22 Saint Mary's to an 85-68 victory over visiting Saint Francis (Pa.) in the season opener for both teams.

Hermanson made his first nine shots from the floor, including five from 3-point range, and converted his only free-throw attempt.

His first miss came on a transition 3-point attempt with 12 minutes left.

"Yeah, tough," he said, "and I was open too."

He did not take another shot, finishing 9 of 10 from the floor, including 5 of 6 from long range, and 1 of 1 from the foul line for 24 points.

"That's Calvin," Gaels coach Randy Bennett said. "He can get it going."

Jock Landale added 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting and pulled down eight rebounds for the Gaels, who won their season opener for the 16th consecutive year. Emmett Naar had 12 assists, which was four more than the entire Saint Francis team.

Jamaal King scored 15 points for Saint Francis, the preseason pick to win the Northeast Conference. Isaiah Blackmon added 12 points for the Red Flash and Keith Braxton had 10.

Saint Mary's shot 53.8 percent for the game and made 12 of 26 shots from beyond the 3-point line. The Gaels had 24 assists compared to eight for Saint Francis, which tried to use its quickness to beat Saint Mary's defenders off the dribble.

"For our guys this was a great test," Red Flash coach Rob Kimmel said. "We've got to get out in transition, but when the ball's going through the net (for the opponent), it's tough to generate a transition game."

The Gaels put the game away with a spurt early in the second half. Saint Francis stayed in the game through the first half, and trailed by just eight a minute into the second half. That's when Hermanson scored eight points during a 10-point Gaels run that pushed the Saint Mary's advantage to 56-38 with 15:43 remaining.

The Red Flash missed six shots in a row during that pivotal segment, which lasted 2:37.

"That run was huge," Hermanson said. "They scored two points in the first five minutes, and I think that's where we separated."

Other than that stretch, Bennett was not pleased with the team's defensive effort overall.

"For the first 10 minutes of the second half we were pretty good (defensively)," he said. "(but) I didn't think we were very good defensively overall. We've got work to do. Offensively we were efficient, but not defensively."

Krimmel agreed that the Gaels' early second-half surge took his team out of the game.

"I thought for the first 20 minutes we did a pretty good job of executing," he said. "Overall, I was pleased with our effort and togetherness, but we could have executed better in the second half.

"When a team makes a run like that, that's when you really have to execute offensively. But the environment was great. What a great way to start a season."

Hermanson hit all six of his first-half field-goal attempts, including three 3-pointers, and scored 16 points in the first 20 minutes. That helped the Gaels take a 46-36 lead at intermission.

NOTES: Saint Mary's F Kyle Clark, who was penciled in as a starter, did not play Saturday because of a knee injury sustained Wednesday. His status for Monday's game against New Mexico State is uncertain. ... Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett signed a 10-year contract extension Friday that will run through the 2026-27 season. ... Saint Francis returns three players who averaged at least 12 points on last season's 17-17 team. ... Saint Mary's was a unanimous pick to win the West Coast Conference title this season in the coaches' preseason poll. ... Saint Francis C Deivydas Kuzavas made his first career start Saturday. ... Saint Francis plays at San Francisco on Monday, and has road games against Louisville and Duke later this season.