BOWLING GREEN, Ky. — Saint Mary's (8-6) showed heart fighting back late at E.A. Diddle Arena against Western Kentucky but came up just shy of a comeback as they fell 71-86.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Malik Fitts and Jordan Ford powered the Gaels' offense by combing for 54 of SMC's 68 points. The duo shot 21-of-39 from the field and 5-of-7 from deep. For Fitts, it was his third 20+ point contest this year and second-highest total in 2018. The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native also grabbed 12 boards for his third double-double this season.

With under a minute to play, Saint Mary's rallied to once again make it a one-possession game.  Down by nine, Ford made three consecutive layups and the Gaels' defense was able to force two turnovers late to get the ball with 14 seconds to play and trail by just three.

On the inbounds, Saint Mary's had three shots bounce off the rim and Tanner Krebs launched one final 3-point try as time expired but his attempt clanked off the back iron.

Ford led all scorers in the game with 28 points and had eight in the final minute of the game. Unfortunately for the Gaels, only five players managed to get on the scoreboard as Tanner Krebs (8), Dan Fotu (3), and Jordan Hunter (3) contributed the other 14 points.

Western Kentucky (6-6) shot 58 percent from the field and converted six of their 12 tries from beyond the arc. Josh Anderson led the Hilltoppers with 18 points while three other WKU players reached double-digits.

Saint Mary's did well to limit standout freshman center Chris Bassey as the Lagos native scored only five points in the contest.

Shortly after WKU pulled ahead to a 12-point advantage during the second half, the Gaels rallied with an 8-0 run and after Fitts made two free throws, the Hilltoppers' lead was down to just three. The game would be a one-possession contest for less than 20 seconds however as WKU spurred a 7-0 run to go back up by double-figures.

Early in the game, Ford scored 10 of the Gaels' first 15 points on 4-of-5 shooting including two strikes from beyond the arc. Ford and Fitts combined for all 19 of the Gaels' points to begin the contest and totaled 24 of the team's 27 by half.

WKU shot 60 percent in the first half and knocked down four of their six 3-pointers. Five different Hilltoppers scored five or more points during the period.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
5: Saturday's loss was the fifth time this season the Gaels have lost have six or less points.
9: Western Kentucky's defense picked up nine blocks in the game.
20: Outside of Fitts and Ford, the Gaels shot just 20 percent from the field.
47: Saint Mary's made 47 percent of their 3-pointers (8-of-17) during the game.

UP NEXT: SAN JOSE STATE
Following the Christmas break, Saint Mary's will play their final non-conference game of the season against San Jose State at home. Links to the game as well as tickets can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.