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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Malik FItts vs Pacific
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
66
Pacific PAC 13-12, 3-7 WCC
78
Winner Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 15-9, 6-3 WCC
Pacific PAC
13-12, 3-7 WCC
66
Final
78
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
15-9, 6-3 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Pacific PAC 39 27 66
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 42 36 78

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Gaels Drop Tigers With Strong Shooting

Saint Mary's couldn't miss from deep Thursday night as they set a season-high percentage from beyond the arc.

MORAGA, Calif. — A strong defensive second half helped the Gaels get past a pesky Pacific team Thursday night as Saint Mary's moved in sole possession of third place in the West Coast Conference.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford, the WCC's leading scorer, had another dazzling game as he went off for a game-high 28 points and made 10 of his 13 free throws. The junior entered Thursday's contest as the third best 3-point shooter in the conference and proved his ability by going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.

As a team, the Gaels were 10-for-17 from distance, 59-percent, which marked their best perimeter shooting performance of the season.

Malik Fitts scored 14 points on the night on 5-of-9 shooting while Jordan Hunter grabbed a career-high 14 boards, including seven on the offensive glass. Tommy Kuhse and Elijah Thomas chipped in eight points as well.

Pacific shot 67-percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes but just 36-percent in the second half as the Gaels' defense did a solid job shutting down the Tigers' big scorers. Jeremiah Bailey scored a team-high 14 points in the first half for UOP but was held to just two in the final session.

Ford scored six straight during a 14-3 second half run that helped Saint Mary's pull ahead of the Tigers by double-digits and the Gaels held a comfortable lead for the remainder of regulation. Seven of Ford's 10 second half points came via the free throw.

Both teams exchanged buckets in the first period and the score remained tied for five and a half minutes during the half. Saint Mary's largest lead in the half was just four and the Gaels took a three point advantage into the break.

Jahlil Tripp scored 23 points to lead the Tigers and Roberto Gallinat added 20 as well. Pacific shot 6-of-11 from 3-point and 50-percent overall from the field.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
  • 3: With San Francisco's loss, the Gaels move behind only Gonzaga and BYU in the WCC race.
  • 12: Saint Mary's grabbed 12 more rebounds than Pacific, 31-19.
  • 14: All but one of the Gaels' 15 wins have come by double-figures.
  • 16: There were 16 lead changes in the first half.
  • 48: Both teams combined to shoot 48 free throws in the game.
UP NEXT: GONZAGA
  • The Gaels will travel up to Spokane for a road game against No. 4 Gonzaga on Saturday at 8 p.m. More information for the game can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.
 
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