A power outage provided most of the excitement at Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu, Calif., on Thursday night as No. 20 Saint Mary's recorded an otherwise uneventful 78-49 West Coast Conference victory over Pepperdine.

Center Jock Landale had 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and added 14 rebounds for the Gaels (25-3, 15-2 WCC). He was limited to seven points, four rebounds and 14 minutes of playing time in the Gaels' victory over BYU on Saturday.

Pepperdine simply had no one big enough to bother the 6-foot-11 Landale, who did all of his scoring from close range.

"The big part of his success is his size," Pepperdine coach Marty Wilson said. "He's done a heck of a job getting in shape. That's allowed him to have a big year. He's mobile and active."

Calvin Hermanson added 13 points for the Gaels, who shot 52.5 percent from the field and limited Pepperdine to 29.3 percent shooting.

"I thought we played really well tonight," Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said. "I thought Jock played well. We used our size advantage inside, and our players did a good job finding him and giving him the ball."

Lamond Murray Jr., the leading scorer in the WCC, had 17 points for the injury-riddled Waves (9-20, 5-12).

"We've been through some adversity, being undermanned, but you can't dwell on that or it overwhelms you," Wilson said. "You have to be disciplined. We were initially, but we had some breakdowns that allowed them to get some easy shots. That's what they do. They handle the ball screen as well as anyone I've seen. They're patient and they wait for you to make a mistake."

Saint Mary's led 41-21 about one minute into the second half when the lights went out at Firestone Fieldhouse because of a campus-wide power outage. The game was interrupted for about 20 minutes before the lights came back on and play resumed, allowing the Gaels to continue their dominance.

"It was a first that has happened to me," Bennett said. "I think it affected the game a little bit. It was a bit choppy."

Gonzaga's victory over San Diego on Thursday night officially eliminated the Gaels from a chance to gain a share of the regular-season WCC crown. Saint Mary's is stuck in second place no matter what happens this weekend.

The Gaels' goal is to get into the NCAA Tournament, and the team is in good position to get there. Saint Mary's needs to win its final regular-season game on Saturday at home against Santa Clara to feel safe.

"Our team will be motivated to play Saturday night," Bennett said. "It is against Santa Clara, one of our rivals, and it is senior night. Our guys will be ready to play."

Saint Mary's took control of Thursday's game at the outset. The Waves made just three of their first 15 shots, which helped the Gaels grab an early 20-5 lead.

Murray scored the Waves' first nine points but was held without a point over the final 10:58 of the half.

Hermanson scored 10 points in the first half, which ended with Saint Mary's holding a 37-21 lead.

Evan Fitzner and Dane Pineau had nine points apiece in the first 20 minutes for the Gaels, and Fitzner collected his points by hitting his first three 3-point attempts. Neither of them scored a point after intermission.

Pepperdine finished the first half shooting 30 percent from the field, while Saint Mary's made 53.6 percent of its field-goal attempts.

The Gaels pushed their lead to 22 points when Landale scored the first six points of the second half. Midway through the second half, Saint Mary's increased the margin to 26 points, and the Gaels used their reserves for the closing minutes.

"I think it was key to get our bench players going today, giving them minutes off the bench later in the game," Bennett said.

NOTES: Saint Mary's concludes the regular season at home against Santa Clara on Saturday. ... Pepperdine's last game is at home against San Francisco on Saturday .... Pepperdine is without three players who were expected to be starters when the season began. The latest casualty was F Chris Reyes, who played only seven minutes Saturday in a loss to Santa Clara before aggravating a heel injury. He is out for the season. ... The Waves lost to Saint Mary's 85-65 in their meeting in Moraga, Calif., back on Jan. 21, but Pepperdine beat the Gaels twice last season.