MALIBU, Calif. — Saint Mary's offense caught fire inside Firestone Fieldhouse on Saturday and helped the team surf past Pepperdine in front of a large, supportive Gael cheering section, 78-69.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Saint Mary's had four players reach double figures in the win and were led by none other than Jordan Ford. The WCC's scoring leader put up a game-high 26, including 22 in the final half, while shooting 9-of-18 from three. Ford also had a team-high three assists and two steals. 

The win represented head coach Randy Bennett's 200th career WCC win, becoming only the second coach in the conference's history to accomplish that feat. Bennett has spent all 19 years of his career with the Gaels. 

The Gaels had their best shooting performance of their conference schedule by making 52 percent of their field goals and 53 percent (9-of-17) of their threes. SMC came into the contest shooting 34 percent from beyond the arc in their last five games. 

Malik Fitts followed suit with 18 points and seven rebounds and Tanner Krebs added 17 of his own. Krebs began the game 7-for-7 and didn't miss a shot until the 6:11 mark of the second half. Alex Ducas, who made his first career start, posted 10 points in 19 minutes. The freshman went 2-for-4 from beyond the arc to bring his season percentage up to 46 percent. 

Saint Mary's led 43-35 going into halftime thanks to excellent perimeter shooting. SMC made seven of their 11 attempts from three to say nothing of their 57 percent overall shooting in the half. Krebs and Fitts each had 13 in the period. 

The Waves fought back early in the half to trail by just two but the Gaels would respond with a 15-2 run immediately following to jump back ahead by double digits. Saint Mary's never led by fewer by eight for the final 13 minutes of the game. 

The Gaels' defense tightened up in the final minutes to keep the Waves at bay, holding their opponents to miss seven of their final nine attempts. Simultaneously, Ford kept converting on his free throws down the stretch and ended up scoring SMC's last 12 points of the half. 

The Gaels led by as many as 15 with four minutes and change to play in the opening half but a 10-0 run by the Waves would cut that lead down to two possessions. Krebs delivered a big trey, his third of the period, to stop the Waves' momentum with a minute left. 

Colbey Ross had 24 points to lead Pepperdine but was held to 1-of-7 shooting from deep. Kameron Edwards added 17 and grabbed nine boards. 

Saint Mary's shooters were hot early on, beginning the game 7-of-8 from the field. Krebs scored three of those buckets and had eight points by the first media timeout.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
20: The Gaels held Peppedine to shoot only 20 percent from three (4-of-20). 
0: Saint Mary's never trailed the Waves in the game and led for 38:54. 
38: Three Gaels played at least 38 minutes in the win (Krebs, Ford, Fitts). 
76: Saint Mary's starters accounted for 76 of the team's 78 points.

UP NEXT: SAN FRANCISCO
Saint Mary's returns to Moraga next week and will go for the season sweep of the Dons on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the game can be purchased here or by calling the Ticket Office at 925-631-4689(GoTx).