Freshman center Evan Fitzner scored nine of his 13 points during a 66-second span of the second half to help Saint Mary's pull away for a 77-65 victory over Georgia on Sunday in NIT second-round action at Moraga, Calif.

Sophomore guard Emmett Naar had 15 points and 11 assists as the second-seeded Gaels (29-5) set a school record for victories. Junior guard Joe Rahon scored 13 points and junior forward Dane Pineau contributed 12 points and 11 rebounds for Saint Mary's, which visits top-seeded Valparaiso on Tuesday in an NIT quarterfinal contest.

Junior guard J.J. Frazier and senior guard Charles Mann scored 13 points apiece for the Bulldogs (20-14). Sophomore forward Yante Maten had 12 points but shot just 6-for-22, and senior guard Kenny Gaines had 11 points for third-seeded Georgia.

The Bulldogs made just four of 17 3-point attempts, which stymied their chances of rallying from a double-deficit deficit. Saint Mary's improved to 20-1 at home, the highest home victory total in the nation.

Georgia trailed by 14 points early in the second half and got back into the game with a 9-2 run to pull within six with 14:44 to play. Less than three minutes later, Frazier's three-point play cut Saint Mary's lead to 51-47.

The Gaels answered with 11 straight points, with Fitzner's three-point play making it 62-47 with 7:55 remaining. Fitzner followed with consecutive 3-pointers to push the margin to 17 with 6:49 to play, and Saint Mary's led by as many as 19 before the Bulldogs chipped away but couldn't get closer than 10 points.

Georgia possessed a 15-12 lead less than eight minutes into the contest before missing 13 of its next 15 field-goal attempts. The Gaels took advantage with a 19-4 burst to open up a 12-point lead and eventually took a 36-23 lead into the halftime.