Dec. 17, 2004

Box Score

Moraga, CA - The Saint Mary's men's basketball team outscored Sacramento State 42-19 in the second half and cruised to a 73-38 victory over the Hornets on Friday night at McKeon Pavilion. The Gaels were led by sophomore Brett Collins who scored a career-high 18 points. The victory improves SMC's record to 8-4 on the season, while Sacramento State fell to 1-7 overall.

With the score 31-19 in favor of the Gaels at the intermission, SMC used a 9-2 run to open the second half and extend its lead to 40-26 with 15:21 remaining in the contest. The Gaels then held the Hornets scoreless from the field for nearly 10 minutes and out scored Sacramento State 22-4 to open a 62-30 advantage. During that stretch, the Hornets were 0-14 from the field before DaShawn Freeman hit a 10-foot jumper with 5:39 remaining.

The Gaels' second half lead would reach as much as 73-36 following a Reda Rhalimi dunk with 1:17 left to play. Rhalimi finished the game with four points and one rebound in five minutes of action.

Collins scored 10 of is 18 points in the second half, and finished the game going 6-for-10 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the free throw line. He also pulled down a season-high seven rebounds, matching Daniel Kickert for team-high honors.

Kickert finished the game with 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor. He made his only 3-point attempt in the game, that coming just 34 seconds into the game. That 3-pointer moved Kickert past the 1,000-point mark for his career, making him just the 19th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone. He now has 1,010 points in his career.

Also scoring in double figures for the Gaels was senior guard Paul Marigney. Marigney, who was playing in just his third game of the season, chipped in with 10 points.

For the game the Gaels shot 44 percent from the field, making 25 of their 56 shots. SMC was 6-for-17 from 3-point land and 17-of-21 from the free throw line. Saint Mary's out rebounded the Hornets 42 to 38 and held Sacramento State to just 24 percent (14-57) shooting from the field.

Saint Mary's will return to action on Sunday, December 19 when the Gaels host the Hampton Pirates. The game will tip-off at 7:05 p.m. from McKeon Pavilion. The game can also be heard on the radio at KDIA AM-1640 and on the internet at www.SMCGaels.com. The radio broadcast will be tape delayed and will begin at 9:00 p.m.