MORAGA, Calif. -- No. 12 Saint Mary's was pleased with its 84-53 bounce-back victory over UC-Irvine on Sunday, but the highlight of the evening was a first-half play by someone who played just 1.3 seconds in that half.

After Evan Fitzner hit two free throws with 1.3 seconds left in the half to increase the Gaels' lead to 35-25, the Anteaters (5-6) called a timeout and attempted a full-court pass.

Jordan Hunter, who had just been inserted in the game for the first time during the free throws, intercepted the pass and launched a shot from just beyond half court. It swished through, but officials reviewed video of the shot for six minutes before determining that Hunter's shot beat the buzzer, giving Saint Mary's (7-1) a 13-point lead at intermission.

Hunter certainly got the most of his one second on the court.

"If I play a minute in the first half, it's 180 points," quipped Hunter.

Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett did not minimize the effect of that shot.

"It changed the game," he said. "I'm not kidding. I couldn't keep a straight face, but I could feel the momentum."

St. Mary's quickly increased its 13-point halftime lead to 20 points, with Jock Landale's steal and dunk completing the 9-2 run to start the second half. The margin grew to 25 points with 11:22 to play, and Irvine never challenged thereafter.

Landale finished with a team-high 15 points for the Gaels, who shot 56.3 percent from the field and made 10 of 17 three-point shots.

It was a stark contrast to Saint Mary's previous game, a 65-51 loss to Texas-Arlington on Thursday when the Gaels shot 31.4 percent.

"I wasn't that concerned," Bennett said of the loss. "I knew we had a stinker. We played better tonight. That was the best we've played in a while."

Irvine coach Russell Turner expected the Gaels to be sharp after Thursday's result.

"We knew they would be focused," he said. "I give a lot of credit to Saint Mary's. They are both physically and mentally tough, and that showed up in a lot of ways."

Evan Fitzner and Jordan Ford added 12 points apiece for Saint Mary's, and Emmett Naar had 10 points.

Eyassu Worku led UC Irvine with 14 points, and Tommy Rutherford added 11 points.

Jaron Martin, the Anteaters' leading scorer at 13.4 points per game, was limited to four points on 2-of-7 shooting. Joe Rahon was the primary defender on Martin, and Bennett was not surprised by Rahon's success.

"He's guarding the best guy every night," Bennett said.

Turner had a little different take.

"It wasn't just Rahon as much as the team," Turner said. "They play great team defense."

Martin went scoreless in the first half, when Saint Mary's took control. The Gaels held a 17-7 lead nine minutes into the game, and after the Anteaters closed the gap to three points, Fitzner hit a three-pointer that began a 9-2 Gaels run. The Anteaters shot just 38.5 percent in the first half, and took a blow to the midsection when Hunter made his shot.

Hunter played more in the late stages of the second half and finished with six points.

The Anteaters could have used Luke Nelson, an all-conference guard last season who has yet to play this season because of a hamstring injury.

"He's close," Turner said. "We'll be a better team when we get him back. But I still feel we could be pretty good. It's tough (because) when we don't play well we allow it to affect our spirit."

NOTES: UC Irvine has been without its best player, guard Luke Nelson, all season. A first-team all-Big West Conference selection last season, Nelson is out with a hamstring injury. Nelson was in uniform Sunday, but did not get into the game. ... The Anteaters' last win over a top-25 team was Nov. 20, 2005, when they beat No. 13 Stanford 79-63. ... It remains to be seen whether Saint Mary's will remain in the top 25 when the new Associated Press rankings are released Monday. Saint Marty's lost at home to Texas-Arlington 65-61 on Thursday.