MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's entered the locker room at half time trailing by only two against No. 1 Gonzaga but a big Bulldog run in the second half prevented the Gaels' from knocking off the top team in the nation.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford led Saint Mary's efforts in the loss with 19 points which tied the Zags' Josh Perkins for the game high. Tommy Kuhse and Tanner Krebs also reached double figures with 11 points each.

Saint Mary's held Gonzaga scoreless for a four minute stretch midway through the final half that kept the game within two possessions but an ensuing 17-0 run put the Zags up by 20. Jock Perry would finally stop the bleeding with the Gaels' first points in nearly eight minutes.

Gonzaga did not score a field goal for the last seven minutes of the game but it was too little too late for the Gaels who were outscored by 12 points in the final half.

Jordan Hunter tallied three points and had eight rebounds on Senior Night in Moraga. Hunter was the only senior to suit up this season for the Gaels and was honored at half court before the game with his parents.

The Gaels' defense was effective at limiting the Zags' perimeter game by holding GU to go just 2-for-14 from beyond the arc.

Kuhse gave the Gaels their first lead of the game at 8:42 with a layup that put SMC up 18-17. After Gonzaga retook the lead on the other end, Ford hit a big triple to put Saint Mary's back up by two. The Gaels led for nearly five minutes of the game, all of which came in the opening 20.

Rui Hachimura had 17 and Brandon Clarke added 15 as the Zags' other top scorers. Clarke, who led the conference in blocks per game coming into the night, had four rejections.

Ford hit a deep three to tie the score 34 all in the Gaels' last possession of the first half but Filip Petrusev responded with a fadeaway buzzer beater jumper to put Gonzaga up 36-34 heading into halftime. Ford had 13 points at the half to lead Saint Mary's and was 3-of-4 from three point land. Hachimura was a perfect 6-for-6 in the opening period to match Ford's 13.

Neither team scored a bucket until almost three minutes had passed to begin the contest when Brandon Clarke scored a layup to put the Zags up 4-0. Ford immediately put in a layup on the other end to give Saint Mary's their first score of the game.

Saint Mary's only had two points through the first six minutes of the game on 1-of-8 shooting but held the deficit to single digits early on. Gonzaga never led by more than nine during the opening half.

NUMBERS TO KNOW

• 7: The Gaels shot just seven free throws compared to 12 for GU.
• 11: Saint Mary's scored 11 second chance points off 11 offensive boards.
• 30: Both teams had 30 rebounds in the contest.
• 69: Saint Mary's held Gonzaga to their second lowest point total of the season with 69 allowed.

QUOTABLE

• Jordan Ford: "I think we did a good job in the beginning when we were able to come back and take the lead. We have to do a better job of taking better shots and getting back into transition because they are a tough team to stop, especially in transitions."
• Randy Bennett: "They are a very good team and I think our offense hurt us in the second half. I thought [Matthias] Tass really helped us and [Jordan] Hunter was also very good defensively. We did a good job competing in the first half against the best team in the country so that is good progress."

UP NEXT: WCC CHAMPIONSHIP

• Saint Mary's will head to Las Vegas for the 2019 West Coast Conference Championship Tournament in the Orleans Arena. As the No. 2 seed, the Gaels will play on Monday in the semifinal round.