Final Stats | Quotes

MORAGA, Calif. - In their third game in five days, No. 21 Saint Mary's took care of business, defeating Cal State Fullerton, 76-57, with a strong defensive showing Wednesday night at McKeon Pavilion.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's defense proved strong from the get-go as the Gaels collected three steals and a block within the first six minutes of the game. As a result, 12 of the Gaels' first 15 points came off of turnovers.

Halfway through the first half, Fullerton closed the deficit to 17-14 by going on a 7-2 run sparked by Khalil Ahmed's layup. Just minutes later Saint Mary's put a stop to Fullerton and started a 7-0 run of their own.

With 4:20 remaining in the opening half, Jock Landale reached double-digit scoring for the tenth straight game and third time this season to put the Gaels up 28-20. Less than two minutes later, Calvin Hermanson drilled a three for his 10th point of the half to keep the lead at eight.

Heading into the half, Saint Mary's held a 39-31 advantage despite Fullerton shooting 67-percent from the floor. Fullerton turned the ball over 13 times and took 14 fewer shots during the opening period.

The Gaels' came out strong into the second half as they made their first five shots in just four minutes. Landale scored the first five points for the Gaels while Tanner Krebs and Hermanson each drilled a shot from beyond the arc.

Saint Mary's defense stonewalled the Titans attack during the second half as Fullerton shot 1-for-16 from the field over a seven minute stretch.

Hermanson once again broke the 20-point plateau with his fourth trey of the night at the 5:15 mark. It's the second time in three games that the Gaels' 6-6 forward has reached the mark this season after eclipsing 20+ points only three times last year.

Redshirt freshman Jock Perry gave the Gaels their biggest lead of the night with under a minute to play as he converted two free throws to put Saint Mary's up by 21 and the Gaels ultimately finished off the Titans, 76-57.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 9: Saint Mary's held the Titans to 9-percent shooting from beyond the arc (1-for-11).
• 10: SMC scored 10 second chance points during the contest.
• 19: The Gaels won't return to McKeon Pavilion for 19 days when they host Sacramento State on Dec. 4.
• 21: Saint Mary's forced 21 Fullerton turnovers in total.
• 22: Calvin Hermanson had a game-high 22 points.
• 31: The Gaels capitalized for 31 points off of Titan turnovers.

QUICK NOTES

• Tonight was the first meeting between the Gaels and Titans in eight years and 352 days (11/28/08).
• SMC has won the last four meetings and are 6-5 all-time versus Cal State Fullerton.
• The Gaels forced 13 Titans turnovers in the first half, more than the season average of 8.5 turnovers in a game.
• A 47 percent field goal percentage in opening half marked first time this season the Gaels shot less than 50 percent from the floor in any half.
• Tonight was the first time the Gaels were outrebounded by an opponent since their loss versus Arizona in Round of 32 of the NCAA Tournament (3/18/17).

UP NEXT: SAN JOSE STATE

• Saint Mary's will take their first road trip of the season down to the South Bay where the Gaels will face San Jose State on Sunday, Nov. 19.
• Tip-off versus SJSU is set for 5 p.m. PST. The game can be viewed exclusively on Facebook HERE.
• Tickets for Saint Mary's home games can be purchased by clicking HERE or by calling the Gaels' Ticket Office at (925) 631-GoTx.