Saint Mary's Loses Defensive Struggle to Utah, 41-35
1/7/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's men's basketball team (5-8) played great defense but came up short in a loss to the Utah Utes (10-3) at McKeon Pavilion. Leading the way for the Gaels was freshman Adam Caporn (Baldivis, W. Australia) who finished with eight points, six rebounds, two steals and one assist.
After the game Head Coach Randy Bennett summed up his team's performance by saying, "If you can hold a team to 41 points, forcing 20 turnovers, your doing a good job defensively...we just got to get better offensively."
The Utes jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead but could only add another five points in the next eleven minutes of play. In that span the Gaels were able to retaliate with a 7-0 run, which would bring them within one. After a 3-pointer by Utah's Phil Cullen, the Gaels went on a 9-3 run to end the half and tie the game at 19.
In the second half both teams continued to play great defense as both offenses were limited to below 40 percent shooting. The Gaels gained control of the lead when senior Ethnie Stubbs (Freeport, Bahamas) hit a 3-pointer to put the Gaels up 22-21. SMC kept the lead for the next four minutes until the Utes' Jeff Johnsen came up with a steal and finished with a dunk. The Gaels retaliated with a shot from long range by junior Samuel Saint-Jean (Versailes, France), which would put the Gaels ahead 29-28. The Utes' then closed out the final seven minutes of the game with a 13-6 run and the win.
Utah Utes' Head Coach Rick Majerus explained his thoughts about Randy Bennett and SMC, "He's doing a great job...you need to create a (basketball) atmosphere and I believe he is doing it. It would be a shame if we didn't give Saint Mary's their credit because they did a great job."
Utah's Jeff Johnsen led all scorers with 11 points, going 5-for-13 from the floor. SMC's Stubbs led all players with eight rebounds. As a team the Gaels shot 27.7 percent to the Utes 37.2 percent. The Gaels also out-rebounded the Utes 34-31.
The Gaels will now begin conference play as they host the Pepperdine Waves on Friday, January 11. This game will begin at 7:05 p.m at McKeon Pavilion.
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