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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Tommy Kuhse vs Portland
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
48
Portland POR 7-23, 0-15 WCC
65
Winner Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 20-10, 11-4 WCC
Portland POR
7-23, 0-15 WCC
48
Final
65
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
20-10, 11-4 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Portland POR 17 31 48
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 34 31 65

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Gaels Coast Past Portland, 65-48

Saint Mary's had no trouble earning their 11th win of WCC play Thursday night in a big win over the Pilots.

MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's led big early in Thursday's contest and easily navigated past the Pilots for a 17-point win in the team's penultimate game of the regular season. With the win and San Francisco's loss, the Gaels clinched the No. 2 spot in the WCC Tournament and will automatically advance to the tournament semifinals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
For the third straight game, Saint Mary's defense stepped up as they held Portland to shoot just 34 percent from the field and 23 percent from beyond the arc. Jordan Hunter was excellent down low for the Gaels once again as he blocked a career-high six shots and grabbed 10 boards. The Aussie senior now has 18 blocks over the past five contests.

The Gaels have held their opponents to less than 50 points in each of the last three games.

Saint Mary's shot 46 percent in the win and had three scorers in double figures in a balanced offensive performance. Malik Fitts had a game-high 17 while Jordan Ford added 15 and Tanner Krebs chipped in 12 more. In total, eight of the 12 Gaels who saw the court scored.

SMC was particularly effective on three-point attempts, going 11-for-26 from deep against the Pilots' defense. Krebs shot 4-for-7 on trey's to lead the team while Fitts and Ford had three makes each as well.

Saint Mary's carried a 34-17 lead into the half as seven different Gaels got on the scoreboard during the period. The Gaels earned eight assists on their 14 buckets in the half and were 6-of-12 from distance.

Five of the Gaels' first six buckets in the game were from three-point land and put Saint Mary's up 17-6 just eight minutes into the contest. Shortly after, a 7-0 run would SMC give a 16-point advantage with five minutes to play in the half.

Marcus Shaver Jr had a team-high 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting for Portland with 10 of those coming in the second half. Jojo Walker added eight more for the Pilots in the team's 15 conference loss.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
  • 3: Tanner Krebs tied his career-high with three steals.
  • 8: Saint Mary's had a season-high eight blocks against the Pilots.
  • 12: The Gaels have now won 20 or more games in 12 straight seasons.
  • 15: Saint Mary's collected 15 assists on 24 made shots.
  • 38: SMC led for 38:42 of the 40 minutes in the game.
UP NEXT: NO. 1 GONZAGA
  • Saint Mary's closes out their regular season with a Saturday showdown on ESPN against No. 1 Gonzaga at 7 p.m. The Gaels will honor Jordan Hunter prior to the game as a part of Senior Day festivities.
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