MBK | Saint Mary's Dominates In Opening Round Of NIT

Tuesday, March 13

Moraga, Calif.

7:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

Southeastern Louisiana

MBK | Saint Mary's Dominates In Opening Round Of NIT

3/13/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball

March 13, 2018

Final Stats | Quotes | Photo Gallery

MORAGA, Calif. -- From start to finish the Saint Mary's men's basketball team (29-5) dominated in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament over Southeastern Louisiana (22-12), 89-45, Tuesday night at McKeon Pavilion.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The action started off for the Gaels offense in a hurry with a 15-4 run in the first quarter with contributions from Jock Landale, Calvin Hermanson and Jordan Ford. Landale was fed heavily and often in the paint and scored 11 out of the 19 first quarter points for the Gaels. Hermanson and Ford both knocked down first quarter three-pointers and finished with eight points combined to give the Gaels a 19-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter started with a 12-0 run and dead-eye three point shooting from the Gaels thanks to back-to-back treys from Hermanson and a step back three by Ford to put the Gaels up, 30-11 with 5:57 left in the quarter. Landale continued his dominance in the paint by heading to the foul line four times and finished the half with 16 points. Tanner Krebs took control on the boards with eight rebounds and helped the Gaels outrebound the Lions by 10.
Hermanson put the finishing touches on the first half with a buzzer beating three-pointer to give the Gaels a 43-19 lead and lifted his point total to a team-high 17 points at the half. In addition to a 24-8 second half run, the Gaels finished the half shooting a blistering 61 percent from the field and 53 percent from the arc. The Gaels defense held the Lions in check in the first half by forcing them to shoot just 34 percent from the field and 11 percent from three.
Saint Mary's commanding offense continued in the opening minutes of the second half after shooting a perfect 5-for-5 from the field led by four different Gaels. SMC never dropped below 60.0 percent of shooting in the third quarter that increased the Gaels lead by as much as 34 points heading into the final quarter. After a big lead in the fourth quarter, 10 Gaels scored at least one or more points to conclude the matchup.

QUICK FACTS

The Gaels are now competing in their sixth NIT in program history. SMC has advanced to the NIT in 2008-09, 2010-11, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16.
Tonight's game marks the sixth time the Gaels have shot over 60.0 percent from the field in the first half.
The Gaels are now 3-0 all time versus Southeastern Louisiana. The last time the two programs met was on Dec. 17, 2005 in McKeon Pavilion (W, 66-55).
Today's 44-point win marks the largest margin of victory in a postseason game for Saint Mary's. Previous largest margin of victory was 13 versus Middle Tennessee State on March 19, 2013 (W, 67-54).

NUMBERS TO KNOW

3: Three Gaels reached double-figure points. Landale scored 26 points, Ford had 19 points on a team-high 8-for-10 shooting and Hermanson scored 17.
44: 44 points is the largest margin of victory for the Gaels this season, surpassing the 79-43 win against San Francisco on Feb. 1.
89: Saint Mary's set a program-high postseason scoring record with 89 points after surpassing 85 versus VCU in the 2017 season.

UP NEXT: WINNER BETWEEN BOISE STATE VERSUS WASHINGTON

Saint Mary's will compete in the second round of the NIT against the winner of No. 4 Boise State or No. 5 Washington from March 16-19. More details about the game, including start time, coverage, tickets, and more, will be available on SMCGaels.com and on social media at @SMCGaels.