MBB | Gaels Fight All Night But Fall to Dons, 76-72

Thursday, January 3

San Francisco

6:00 p.m.

Saint Mary's College of California

9-7, 0-1WCC

San Francisco

13-2, 1-0WCC

Saint Mary's

San Francisco

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

MBB | Gaels Fight All Night But Fall to Dons, 76-72

1/3/2019 9:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Saint Mary's tied the game late in the second half and forced a one-possession contest with under a minute to play but couldn't complete the comeback against USF.

SAN FRANCISCO — Saint Mary's (9-7) was relentless Thursday night as they clawed back time and time again but ultimately couldn't overcome a tough San Francisco (13-2) club in a close, four point loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford had another brilliant game for the Gaels with 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting, including three strikes from distance. Ford entered the contest leading the WCC in scoring at 22.7 points per game.

Midway through the final period, Saint Mary's jumped out on a 13-3 run, including seven straight from Ford, and closed the game to just three. With just under eight to play, Ford drove into a swarm of Dons and kicked out to Dan Fotu who drilled a triple to tie the game.

Unfortunately for the Gaels, that was the last time the score would be tied as USF strung together a 6-0 run and held a lead for the remainder of the game.

Jordan Hunter and Malik Fitts also put up 13 each on the night and Fitts also earned his fourth double-double of the season with 13 boards. Tanner Krebs also had 11 points and seven rebounds.

Frankie Ferrari knocked down 19 points to lead the Dons and also picked up seven assists.

The Dons took a seven-point lead into the half on 50-percent shooting from both the field and outside the arc. The Gaels were hampered by making only one of their six attempts from 3-point land.

Despite trailing for most of the first half, Saint Mary's pulled the game to two possessions multiple times. A 6-0 run by the Gaels at the 10-minutes mark had the team down only four and Ford scored five straight late in the half to bring SMC within five.

After Hunter gave the Gaels an early 8-7 lead, San Francisco utilized a 10-0 run to pull ahead by nine and extended their advantage to 10 minutes later.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
3: Three different Gaels have had at least four fouls in the contest.
6: Six of the Gaels' seven losses have come by six points or less.
8: SMC had eight steals in the contest and five in the first half.
9: Saint Mary's committed only nine turnovers.

UP NEXT: BYU AT HOME
Saint Mary's resumes conference play on Saturday as they host the Cougars at 8 p.m. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN2. More information and links can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.