Thursday, January 2
San Francisco, CA
8:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
14-2,1-0WCC
69
at
58
San Francisco
11-5,0-1WCC
1
2
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
36
33
69
San Francisco
28
30
58
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Gaels Start WCC Play with Win Over Dons
1/2/2020 11:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN FRANCISCO — Saint Mary's (14-2, 1-0 WCC) rang in the new year with an impressive win over San Francisco (11-5, 0-1 WCC) on the road to kickoff their conference schedule.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Malik Fitts set the tone early for the Gaels and ended up with his fifth double-double of the year, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. The redshirt junior played nearly all 40 minutes before subbing out in the final seconds.
Saint Mary's defense was stout against the Dons who came into the game averaging over 82 points per contest. USF shot just 33 percent and were 6-for-24 from beyond the arc. 58 points for the Dons marked their second lowest total of the year.
Tommy Kuhse contributed 15 and had five rebounds while the Gaels' leading scorer on the season, Jordan Ford, went for 16 and also grabbed five boards. After a quiet first half, Ford heated up to help close out the win with 13 points in the final period.
While Saint Mary's held a comfortable cushion for the majority of the game, San Francisco threatened late in the second half with an 8-0 run that cut the deficit down to six. Back-to-back buckets by Ford, including a 3-pointer off one foot, would put the Gaels back up by 11 with 4:29 to go.
SMC would lead by at least nine for the remainder of the game.
The Gaels took an eight-point lead into the half, 36-28, and Fitts already had his double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. SMC shot 50 percent in the opening 20 compared to just 38 for the Dons. The Gaels were particularly good at minimizing USF's perimeter shooters as the home team was just 3-of-14 from three.
Saint Mary's tied the score at 18-all with 10:20 to play in the opening half on a Fitts layup and took the lead seconds later when the redshirt junior connected on a trey. Kuhse would finish an open layup in the Gaels' next possession to cap off the 12-0 run. SMC would hold the lead until the final buzzer.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
46: The Gaels grabbed 46 rebounds in the win, a season-high.
20: Alex Ducas led the team with a +20 plus-minus in 16 minutes of action.
87: Saint Mary's shot 87 percent at the charity stripe (13-of-15).
15: Jock Perry saw the lion's share of the minutes at center with 15 off the bench.
36: SMC scored 36 of their points in the paint.
UP NEXT: PACIFIC
Saint Mary's heads to Stockton next for a matchup against the Tigers on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Malik Fitts set the tone early for the Gaels and ended up with his fifth double-double of the year, finishing with 21 points and 13 rebounds. The redshirt junior played nearly all 40 minutes before subbing out in the final seconds.
Saint Mary's defense was stout against the Dons who came into the game averaging over 82 points per contest. USF shot just 33 percent and were 6-for-24 from beyond the arc. 58 points for the Dons marked their second lowest total of the year.
Tommy Kuhse contributed 15 and had five rebounds while the Gaels' leading scorer on the season, Jordan Ford, went for 16 and also grabbed five boards. After a quiet first half, Ford heated up to help close out the win with 13 points in the final period.
While Saint Mary's held a comfortable cushion for the majority of the game, San Francisco threatened late in the second half with an 8-0 run that cut the deficit down to six. Back-to-back buckets by Ford, including a 3-pointer off one foot, would put the Gaels back up by 11 with 4:29 to go.
SMC would lead by at least nine for the remainder of the game.
The Gaels took an eight-point lead into the half, 36-28, and Fitts already had his double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. SMC shot 50 percent in the opening 20 compared to just 38 for the Dons. The Gaels were particularly good at minimizing USF's perimeter shooters as the home team was just 3-of-14 from three.
Saint Mary's tied the score at 18-all with 10:20 to play in the opening half on a Fitts layup and took the lead seconds later when the redshirt junior connected on a trey. Kuhse would finish an open layup in the Gaels' next possession to cap off the 12-0 run. SMC would hold the lead until the final buzzer.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
46: The Gaels grabbed 46 rebounds in the win, a season-high.
20: Alex Ducas led the team with a +20 plus-minus in 16 minutes of action.
87: Saint Mary's shot 87 percent at the charity stripe (13-of-15).
15: Jock Perry saw the lion's share of the minutes at center with 15 off the bench.
36: SMC scored 36 of their points in the paint.
UP NEXT: PACIFIC
Saint Mary's heads to Stockton next for a matchup against the Tigers on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
Team Stats
SMC
USF
FG%
.433
.333
3FG%
.364
.240
FT%
.867
.706
RB
46
31
TO
13
10
STL
5
9
Game Leaders
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
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