MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's fans were treated to an overtime thriller Thursday night in University Credit Union Pavilion as the Gaels prevailed against BYU 87-84 thanks to timely free throw shooting down the stretch. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
After making just 57 percent of their free throws in the four overtime sessions against Pacific, Saint Mary's remain calm, cool, and collected in their home building and converted eight of their 10 tries in the extra period to secure the win. Redshirt senior Tanner Krebs was a perfect 4-for-4 at the stripe in the effort. 

Jordan Ford continued to flex his offensive prowess with a 24-point showing while cashing in on half of his 16 field goal attempts, including going 4-for-8 from deep. Malik Fitts collected 17 points and just missed his sixth double-double of the year with nine boards. 

Dan Fotu had another strong game with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting while Krebs was the fourth Gael to reach double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds. 

With 6:19 left in the game, Ford pulled up and drained his third triple of the game to put the Gael faithful into a frenzy and his team up by five. The Gaels' senior would give SMC a 9-point lead, their largest of the game up to that point, minutes later by hitting an NBA-range trey. 

In the final minute, the Cougars' Jake Toolson hit a three with 37 seconds in the contest to cut the Gaels' lead down to three and an ensuing SMC turnover and quick bucket by TJ Haws would make it a one-point game. Fitts knocked down a free throw on the next Saint Mary's possession but Haws would run the court and throw down a dunk with six seconds left to tie up the score 77-all. 

Krebs would get a last second shot off just before the buzzer timed but his shot bounced off the front rim. 

Late in overtime, Fitts would make both of his free throws to give the Gaels an ever-important four point advantage with 22 seconds left but Haws once again brought BYU back into the game with a quick three on the opposite end with 13 seconds to play. 

Krebs would be the next Gael to go to the line in a crucial spot and came up big by making both tries. The buzzer would time out on the Cougars after a missed three to give SMC their second conference win of the year. 

Haws had a game-high 29 points for BYU and Toolson contributed 24 as well. 

The Gaels took a 37-34 lead into halftime as Ford connected on a three just before the buzzer sounded to wrap up the period with 10 points. Saint Mary's was just 5-for-16 from three in the opening 20 but dominated within the arc, making nine of their 13 attempts. Eight different Gaels scored in the first half alone. 

Saint Mary's and BYU exchanged buckets to begin the second half and the score was tied up at 40 two minutes in. SMC appeared to be on the brink of pulling away with a 6-0 run in the span of a minute shortly after but four straight points from Toolson would halt their momentum. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
83: The Gaels made 83 percent of their free throws (20-for-24). 
6: Tommy Kuhse posted a game-high six assists. 
35: Saint Mary's led for 35 minutes and 26 seconds in the game. 
43: Ford played 43 minutes in the contest, bringing his total up to 103 minutes across his past two games. 
38: SMC grabbed 38 rebounds compared to 32 for BYU. 

QUOTABLE

• "We have to lock down on defense when we go into overtime periods and I think we did a good job of that tonight. It's easy to get lost in the last five minutes, but we were able to play really well tonight in a high energy situation." - Jordan Ford
• "We knew it was going to be a battle tonight but our guys worked hard to prepare for that and we came out with the win. We're getting better in overtime as we get more experience and I was glad we were able to lock down like we needed to tonight. Logan Johnson gave us some good minutes down the stretch that really sparked our team in the end." - Randy Bennett

UP NEXT: SANTA CLARA
The Gaels' home stand continues on Saturday as they welcome the Broncos to University Credit Union Pavilion for a 5 p.m. matchup. The game can be seen on ESPNU and tickets are available for purchase here.