ANAHEIM, Calif. — As the Friars prepared to pack their bags and make the long flight home today, Keno Davis had plenty of time alone with his thoughts.

The first-year PC coach learned an awful lot about his team on this three-game trip. He spoke of both positives and negatives, both as a group and individually. What is clear is that the Friars aren’t playing with the consistency that a good team needs, especially against elite competition such as Baylor and St. Mary’s.

“It turned out that we played potentially two Top-25 teams,” Davis said. “We’re not quite at that level yet. We’re not too far behind, but we’re showing signs. Even though we would’ve liked to win the tournament or come out 2-1, we’ll look at some positives from playing out here. One is that, at times, we’re a really tough ball club to beat. At times, we play really hard. If we can put that together for 40 minutes of basketball, we have a chance to be a really good ball club this year.”

Jonathan Kale was the Friars’ best player on the trip. He averaged 14 points and 7 rebounds and led PC with a career-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds yesterday. “Jon Kale was outstanding,” said Davis. “For him to get eight offensive rebounds is an incredible sign for us. We can go a long way with him.”

McDermott off at the line

While never a strong free-throw shooter, Geoff McDermott has really hit the skids from the stripe so far this season. McDermott missed all three of his attempts yesterday, including two with 2:08 left and the Friars trailing by eight points. McDermott is a 58-percent career shooter, but is at 45 percent (17 of 38) this season. He’s shooting 37 percent (19-of-51) from the field.

McDermott played with a balky ankle throughout the tourney. He twisted it the first time down the court in the opener against Baylor but still played 26 minutes a game.

McDermott is not alone. One of the team’s top shooters, Sharaud Curry, clanked two freebies in the final five minutes. He is an 89-percent foul shooter.

St. Mary’s trivia

For any Friars fans looking for a little background on St. Mary’s College, it is in Moraga, Calif., and run by the De La Salle Christian Brothers. The campus is 15 miles outside of Oakland and the enrollment is just 3,916 students. PC’s enrollment is 3,966.

Coach Randy Bennett has made St. Mary’s a consistent contender in the West Coast Conference. The Gaels made the NCAA’s last season, losing to Miami in the first round.

They also earned bids in 2005 (losing to Southern Illinois), 1997 (lost to Wake Forest) and 1989 (lost to Clemson). The school’s only NCAA win came in 1959 against Idaho State.

kmcnamar@projo.com