MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's defense stepped up on Thursday night in McKeon Pavilion as the Gaels grinded out a 61-49 win over Northern Illinois. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Tanner Krebs led the team with 14 points while going 4-for-6 from deep and also grabbed six rebounds. Malik Fitts had his third straight double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while Jordan Ford tallied 12 points. 

Kristers Zoriks was the fourth Gael with 10 or more points and posted his second consecutive game in double-digits as he put up 10 in 24 minutes of play.  

Saint Mary's had to overcome some shooting woes in order to win their eighth straight win. The Gaels knocked down just 41 percent of their attempts and were 9-of-26 from 3-point land. The team did find success at the charity stripe however, converting 12 of their 14 opportunities. 

Despite their offensive struggles, the team's defense was stellar as they held NIU to shoot only 36 percent, a season-best for the Gaels, and 25 percent from three. Saint Mary's also swatted six shots, their most in a game this year, and won the battle on the boards, 34-32. 

The Gaels' defense forced NIU to miss their first 10 shots of the night and the Huskies didn't find the bottom of the nylon until nearly 10 minutes into the game. SMC held the Huskies' leading scorer, Eugene German, without a basket for the first 14 minutes. 

German came into Thursday's matchup averaging over 21 points per game and he ended up totaling just 16 on 7-of-19 shooting to lead his team. 

Neither team made a field goal until nearly three minutes had expired in the first half. The Gaels were up 8-0 before NIU finally scored their first points five and a half minutes into the game. 

Saint Mary's had an eight point lead going into the locker room but NIU opened the second half with a 7-0 run to bring the lead down to just one, the closest the score had been since the first minute of the game. 

The Gaels got back out to a double-figure lead with just over six minutes to play as Zoriks connected from deep off Matthias Tass' fifth assist of the night. SMC held NIU scoreless for over five minutes to earn the separation and would hold a comfortable lead for the remainder of regulation.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
6: Matthias Tass had a career and team-high six assists in the game. 
21: Saint Mary's scored 21 points off 13 NIU turnovers. 
8: Malik Fitts was 8-of-10 at the free throw line. 
39: The Gaels lead for over 39 minutes and never trailed. 

QUOTABLE
"We were locked in and our intensity was good to start the game. Tass had four blocks and was strong defensively for us as well tonight. Team-wise, we were helping each other, we had good rotation, we played hard and we got after them. We took them out of their rhythm in the first ten minutes and when you're at home, that's what you want to do." - Marcus Schroeder

"This game was definitely one of our best defensive games of the season. Overall, I think we did a good job in keeping their top guy guarded and we were able to lock down defensively." - Matthias Tass

UP NEXT: NO. 19 DAYTON
The Gaels will face their second ranked opponent of the year as they head to Phoenix for a neutral site matchup with the Flyers. The contest tips off at 1 p.m. Pacific and can be viewed on ESPNU.