MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (15-4, 2-2 WCC) dropped a heartbreaker in University Credit Union Pavilion on Saturday night as they fell to Santa Clara (15-3, 2-1 WCC) in the final seconds of the contest. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford had a game-high 30 points for his fourth 30-plus point performance this season. The senior went 9-for-18 overall, 5-of-8 from deep, and knocked down all seven of his shots at the charity stripe in one of his most efficient games of the year. 

Ford would unfortunately be the lone Gael to have an on-night as Fitts scored 17 points, although he was just 3-for-15 from the field, and no other Saint Mary's player had more than five points. Fitts picked up his sixth double-double of the season with 11 rebounds. 

After being down seven at the first media timeout in the second half, the Gaels began to turn things around. SMC snapped off a 13-0 run, including nine straight points by Ford, to retake the lead and take their biggest of the game to that point. With under 11 to go, Ford hit a long three and Fitts followed up with a fastbreak layup to blow the roof off UCU Pavilion and give the Gaels a nine-point lead. 

Saint Mary's would unfortunately go on a four and a half minute scoreless streak immediately after that allowed SCU to climb back within two. 

The Gaels led by seven with 3:37 remaining in the contest but a 10-1 run by the Broncos gave them the lead with under a minute to play. Fitts put SMC back up with 33 seconds to play with a big three but Josip Vrankic responded with a layup on the opposite end to pull the Broncos ahead, 67-66. Fitts and Logan Johnson would be denied in the paint in the waning seconds as the final buzzer sounded. 

The Gaels went 7-for-9 from the floor during one stretch of the second half but were 2-for-14 in the final 10 minutes of the game. SCU made five of their last seven shots. 

Santa Clara went into the halftime break up, 40-34. Santa Clara shot 52 percent in the half and made three of their six triples while the Gaels shot just 41 percent overall. Ford had 14 in the first half while Fitts contributed eight. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW 
42: Santa Clara posted 42 points in the paint compared to 26 for the Gaels. 
19: SMC was 19-for-23 at the charity stripe, good for 83 percent. 
41: Saint Mary's knocked down 41 percent of their 3-pointers (7-for-17). 
9: Alex Ducas led the team with a +9 plus-minus rating in 23 minutes.

UP NEXT: PEPPERDINE
Saint Mary's only has one contest next week, an away game in Malibu. The Saturday matchup tips off at 1 p.m. and can be watched on the CBS Sports Network.