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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Jordan Hunter vs Cal State Fullerton
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
78
Winner LSU LSU 8-3
74
Saint Mary's SMC 7-5
Winner
LSU LSU
8-3
78
Final
74
Saint Mary's SMC
7-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
LSU LSU 29 49 78
Saint Mary's SMC 28 46 74

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Late Rally Comes Up Just Short Against LSU

Jordan Hunter scored 15 points Saturday night as the Gaels nearly completed the comeback versus the Tigers.

LAS VEGAS — Saint Mary's (7-5) fought back from a 15-point hole to make it a two-point game with under a minute to play but came up just shy of completing the comeback against the Tigers (8-3).

HOW IT HAPPENED
After being held to two points in the first half, Jordan Ford came alive during the final period with 19 points to bridge the gap and force a one possession game late.

With under 30 seconds to play, the junior forced a turnover and then banged home a pull-up three to pull the Gaels within two. Ford had three steals in the second half that led to seven fast break points.

Saint Mary's had an opportunity to tie the game after LSU's Tremont Waters missed a free throw on the other end but the Gaels' three-point try with eight seconds to go didn't fall and the Tigers were able to escape with the win.

Jordan Hunter had another solid performance for the Gaels with 15 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field. The big man began the game by scoring the first eight points for Saint Mary's and made each of his first four attempts. Hunter has knocked down 77 percent (30-for-39) of his field goal attempts over the past five games.

After LSU began the second half with an 18-4 run, Saint Mary's battled back with a 10-0 run halfway through the final period to bring the deficit down to just five with 8:11 to play. Malik Fitts capped off the run with a 3-pointer from the elbow, his first bucket of the game.

Turnovers hurt the Gaels early on as they coughed up the ball an uncharacteristic 14 times in the first half. The Tigers' defense gave the Gaels' guards trouble with nine steals in the half, including three by Skylar Mays. SMC entered the game averaging only 9.4 turnovers per game.

The Gaels kept the game close during the first half by holding LSU to shoot just 33 percent from the field and 2-of-7 from distance. Despite their offensive struggles, the Tigers converted nine of their 10 free throws during the opening 20 while Saint Mary's made both of their attempts.

Waters led the Tigers' offense with 18 points and was 3-of-5 from 3-point land. As a team, LSU was 22-for-25 from the charity stripe.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
  • 6: Four of the Gaels' losses this season have come by six points or less.
  • 9: Saint Mary's grabbed nine more rebounds than LSU (36-27), including 10 on offense.
  • 21: Ford led all scorers with 21 points for his eighth 20+ point game of the season.
  • 66: Dan Fotu made 66.7 percent (2-for-3) of his 3-pointers in the game. Fotu was tied for first in the conference in 3-point shooting entering the game.

UP NEXT: BUCKNELL
  • The Gaels return to Moraga for their eighth home contest of the season as they host Bucknell on Wednesday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and the action will be broadcast on TheW.tv. More links and information can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.
 
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