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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Jordan Ford vs USD in WCC Championship
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
62
SAN DIEGO USD 21-14
69
Winner SAINT MARYS SMC 21-11
SAN DIEGO USD
21-14
62
Final
69
SAINT MARYS SMC
21-11
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
SAN DIEGO USD 28 34 62
SAINT MARYS SMC 33 36 69

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Gaels Grind Past Toreros, Head to WCC Championship Finals

Saint Mary's got past a pesky San Diego team to advance to the tournament final tomorrow night.

LAS VEGAS — For the eighth time in the last 11 years, Saint Mary's will play for the West Coast Conference Championship title tomorrow night after outlasting San Diego in the semifinal round.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford had a team-high 21 points to power the offense and knocked down nine of his 17 attempts in the game. Malik Fitts earned his sixth double-double with 19 points and 12 board while Tommy Kuhse also figured into double-digits with 15 points.

Key free throws late in the game helped Saint Mary's claim the victory. Kuhse and Tanner Krebs each knocked down both of their free throws while shooting 1-and-1's in the final minute and Fitts added another with 15 seconds remaining to put SMC up five.

Saint Mary's will have another rematch with No. 1 Gonzaga in the championship game for an automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament tomorrow night beginning at 6 p.m.. The game can be viewed on ESPN.

The Gaels' offense was hard to stop as they shot 53 percent from the field, 46 from distance, and 80 percent on 15 trips to the charity stripe. Saint Mary's bread and butter was down low as they totaled 40 points in the paint compared to just 18 for San Diego.

Despite SMC leading for over 32 minutes in the contest, the game was largely a seesaw battle that was kept within two possessions. After San Diego took a two-point lead with nine minutes left, Ford and Fitts spearheaded an 8-0 run that gave Saint Mary's their biggest lead of the half at that point at six.

The Toreros began the second half by making their first five attempts to even the score at 41-41. With 12:44 remaining, Isaiah Wright hit a three to give USD their first lead of the game, 48-45. On the other end, Fitts immediately countered with a trey to tie the score again.

SMC took a 33-28 lead into halftime on 54 percent shooting in the opening 20. Fitts and Ford had 10 a piece while Fitts was an efficient 4-of-5 from the field.

San Diego responded from a 10-point deficit by making six straight buckets to pull within three midway through the first half. The Gaels went scoreless for five minutes late in the half but maintained their lead by holding USD off the board for three of those minutes.

Kuhse provided separation early for the Gaels with a 5-0 run on his own to put Saint Mary's up 13-7 at the first media break. Fitts would turn that into an 8-0 run seconds later with a stepback triple.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
  • 3: Kuhse had three steals in the game, including two that led to breakaway layups.
  • 10: The Gaels' largest lead of the game.
  • 20: Ford, Kuhse, and Krebs played all 20 minutes of the second half.
  • 69: All 69 of Saint Mary's points were scored by the starters.
UP NEXT: WCC CHAMPIONSHIPS FINAL
  • Saint Mary's will match up with No. 1 Gonzaga for the third time this season in the WCC Championship final tomorrow at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN and additional links for the game can be found on the Gaels' schedule page.  
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