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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Malik Fitts drives vs Cal
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
89
Winner Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 10-2,0-0 WCC
77
California Cal 6-5,0-0 Pac-12
Winner
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
10-2,0-0 WCC
89
Final
77
California Cal
6-5,0-0 Pac-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 45 44 89
California Cal 29 48 77

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Ford, Fitts Erupt Against Cal in 89-77 Win

BERKELEY, Calif. — The tandem of Jordan Ford and Malik Fitts powered the Gaels past Cal Saturday night in Haas Pavilion as Saint Mary's improved to 10-2 in the non-conference schedule with three games remaining. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Ford and Fitts totaled 60 of the team's 89 points and had some of their best scoring performances of their careers against the Golden Bears' defense.

Ford led the team's efforts with 32 points, his second most ever in a game, on an efficient 10-of-14 shooting night while also going 10-for-11 at the free throw line. The senior guard grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists to boot. 

Fitts posted 28 points and was just as precise as his teammate Ford as he finished 9-of-12 and 5-of-6 from beyond the arc. The Gaels' forward played nearly the entire game, 37 minutes, before fouling out with just minutes to go. 

Tommy Kuhse was second on the team with nine points, with six of those coming at the stripe, while Tanner Krebs recorded seven. Dan Fotu added seven and collected a career-high nine rebounds. 

Saint Mary's shot 54 percent on offense marking the seventh time this year they've made at least half of their attempts in a game. The Gaels came into tonight's contest leading the country in 3-point percentage and padded that total by going 10-for-15 from distance. 

The Gaels led by more than 10 for the majority of the night before Cal made a late push to bring the lead down to eight with just under five minutes to play. SMC responded with a 5-0 run however to provide a cushion for the remainder of the game. 

After missing their first five shots of the game, Saint Mary's caught fire as they went 13-of-18 from the field for the rest of the half and shot 69 percent (9-of-13) from beyond the arc. The Gaels took a 45-29 lead into the locker room behind the unconscious shooting of Fitts who totaled 21 points on 5-of-6 shooting from 3-point land. 

Fitts recorded his sixth straight game with double-digit points and his third of the year with 20 or more. 

Saint Mary's cold shooting to start the game allowed Cal take a 10-2 lead at the first media timeout. A 13-3 run would give Saint Mary's back the lead 17-15 just minutes later however. The Gaels led by as many as 19 during the second half. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
3: Saint Mary's has won the last three matchups against the Bears and four of the last five.
54: The teams combined to shoot 54 free throws in the contest. 
88: The Gaels made 88 percent of their tries at the charity stripe (29-of-33). 
11: Saint Mary's was +11 on the boards, 33-22. 
5: Only five combined three-point attempts were taken in the second half. 

UP NEXT: ARIZONA STATE
Saint Mary's returns to Talking Stick Resort Arena for a neutral-site matchup against the Sun Devils. Tip-off for the game is at 6 p.m. PT and the contest will be shown on the Pac-12 Network. 
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