MORAGA, Calif. — No. 18 Saint Mary's cinched down defensively in the first half to pull away from Cal Poly and would lead by as many as 36 in a 79-48 blowout in McKeon Pavilion.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's had their best defensive performance of the young season, holding the Mustangs to shoot only 40 percent from the field and 22 from beyond the arc, both season-lows. The Gaels were +12 on the boards and also picked up seven offensive rebounds. Matthias Tass led the team with six boards in 20 minutes of action. 

The Gaels' defense locked down the Mustangs' top scoring options as sophomore guard Junior Ballard, who averaged over 14 points coming into the game, missed all 10 of his shot attempts and finished the night with zero points. Jamaal Smith and Kyle Colvin, who also came in Sunday's game averaging over 10 points per game, were held to two points each. 

Jordan Ford had a game-high 21 points while shooting an efficient 8-for-14 including two made 3-pointers. Malik Fitts also reached double figures with 12 points and the Gaels as a team shot 54 percent from the field. 

The Gaels took a 46-21 lead into the locker room, marking the most points SMC had scored in one half since Feb. 2, 2019 versus San Francisco (47). Saint Mary's was lights out from the field in the opening period, shooting 64-percent from the field, 6-of-10 from distance, and a perfect 8-for-8 from the charity stripe. 

Cal Poly began the game by scoring the first eight points and also held the Gaels scoreless for the first four minutes and change. Ford finally got Saint Mary's on the board with an easy layup off a short pass from Tass and then the Gaels opened up an 8-0 run of their own to tie the game at 10-all.

After back and forth play, Saint Mary's jumped out big on the Mustangs with an 18-1 run over a 4:24 span midway through the first half. Fitts punctuated the run with a fastbreak dunk off an outlet pass from Ford. 

All 13 healthy Gaels saw the court in the game and several bench players saw extended time. Alex Ducas scored eight points in 17 minutes, Kyle Bowen grabbed three rebounds in nearly 16 minutes, and big man Aaron Menzies played 10 minutes and finished with six points and three boards. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
23: Gaels' No. 23 Krister Zoriks scored his first career points in the game on two made treys.
24: Saint Mary's produced 24 points off of 15 Mustang turnovers. 
46: SMC is now shooting 46 percent from three-point land this year (35-for-77).
26: No Gael played more than 26 minutes in the win. 
10: 10 different Gaels appeared on the scoresheet and 12 different Gaels took shot attempts. 

QUOTABLE
"This week has been a step in the right direction for us. There was concern in the beginning of today's game but after that we were pretty good. I think we did a good job after the first four minutes and our defense really showed that." - Randy Bennett

"I definitely feel like this game was a step forward, we were able to get some of our newer guys some minutes and they did well. We're really electrifying offensively, especially when we move the ball like that, so I think it's a good example of our potential." - Jordan Ford

"Credit to our guys for stepping up after that tough start. Once we started locking in on defense, that gave us the spark we needed. The new guys have been getting their feet wet and I think these last two games are a good example of how much they're improving." - Malik Fitts

UP NEXT: FRESNO STATE

• Saint Mary's will play their second neutral site contest of the season on Wednesday as they take on Fresno State at the Golden1 Center in Sacramento.