.png&width=84&height=84&quality=100&type=webp)
Thursday, December 3
Moraga, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
4-1,0-0WCC
82
vs
70
Texas Southern
1-3,0-0SWAC
1
2
F
Texas Southern
35
35
70
Saint Mary's (CA)
39
43
82
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Böckler Erupts for 20 in Win over Texas Southern
12/3/2020 9:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's (4-1) offense was firing on all cylinders on Thursday night against Texas Southern (1-3) as the Gaels picked up their fourth straight win, 82-70.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Leemet Böckler had the best game of his young career as put up 20 points off the bench in 15 minutes. The freshman was unconscious in the first half as he went 5-for-5 from three-point land for 15 points in just seven minutes of action.
Late in the first half, the Estonian knocked down three treys in a 49 second span to give Saint Mary's the lead, 33-30.
Quinn Clinton also had a great game off the bench with a personal-high of 15 points. The Kiwi hit four of his eight tries from beyond the arc, dished out three assists, and had four rebounds to boot.
Not to be overlooked was redshirt senior Tommy Kuhse's second career double-double. Kuhse had 15 points and a career-high 13 assists. Matthias Tass added 14 more points while going 6-for-7 from the floor as the team's fourth double-digit scorer.
As a team, the Gaels shot 54 percent overall and 47 percent from three. SMC also dished out 22 total assists which was their most in a contest since Jan. 30 last year versus Portland.
The Gaels took their first lead of the game with 9:42 to go in the first half. Dan Fotu hit a three while being fouled to tie things up at 15-all and completed the four-point play at the free throw line to put SMC up one.
Böckler's hot shooting late in the half would help Saint Mary's retake the lead in a close game and put the Gaels up 39-34 going into the halftime break. With 7:51 remaining, the freshman hit his sixth triple on the night to give SMC a 10-point lead.
The Gaels never led by fewer than 10 for the remainder of the contest.
Six minutes into the first half, SMC trailed 15-2 as TSU made their first six shots of the contest but Saint Mary's soon cut that lead down with an 8-0 run. Clinton and Böckler each drained three's and Kuhse scored an easy driving layup to force a Tigers timeout.
Michael Weathers led Texas Southern with 23 total points on 8-of-12 shooting. Galen Alexander added 13 more for the Tigers.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
43: The Gaels scored 43 points off the bench.
34: Saint Mary's fired off 34 three-pointers in the game compared to 22 within the arc.
17: SMC had 17 more assists than TSU (22-5).
23: Kuhse now has 23 assists in his past two games.
10: The Gaels earned 10 offensive rebounds.
UP NEXT: UTEP
Saint Mary's stays in Moraga for their next contest against UTEP on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be viewed on the WCC Network.
#GaelsRise
HOW IT HAPPENED
Leemet Böckler had the best game of his young career as put up 20 points off the bench in 15 minutes. The freshman was unconscious in the first half as he went 5-for-5 from three-point land for 15 points in just seven minutes of action.
Late in the first half, the Estonian knocked down three treys in a 49 second span to give Saint Mary's the lead, 33-30.
Quinn Clinton also had a great game off the bench with a personal-high of 15 points. The Kiwi hit four of his eight tries from beyond the arc, dished out three assists, and had four rebounds to boot.
Not to be overlooked was redshirt senior Tommy Kuhse's second career double-double. Kuhse had 15 points and a career-high 13 assists. Matthias Tass added 14 more points while going 6-for-7 from the floor as the team's fourth double-digit scorer.
As a team, the Gaels shot 54 percent overall and 47 percent from three. SMC also dished out 22 total assists which was their most in a contest since Jan. 30 last year versus Portland.
The Gaels took their first lead of the game with 9:42 to go in the first half. Dan Fotu hit a three while being fouled to tie things up at 15-all and completed the four-point play at the free throw line to put SMC up one.
Böckler's hot shooting late in the half would help Saint Mary's retake the lead in a close game and put the Gaels up 39-34 going into the halftime break. With 7:51 remaining, the freshman hit his sixth triple on the night to give SMC a 10-point lead.
The Gaels never led by fewer than 10 for the remainder of the contest.
Six minutes into the first half, SMC trailed 15-2 as TSU made their first six shots of the contest but Saint Mary's soon cut that lead down with an 8-0 run. Clinton and Böckler each drained three's and Kuhse scored an easy driving layup to force a Tigers timeout.
Michael Weathers led Texas Southern with 23 total points on 8-of-12 shooting. Galen Alexander added 13 more for the Tigers.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
43: The Gaels scored 43 points off the bench.
34: Saint Mary's fired off 34 three-pointers in the game compared to 22 within the arc.
17: SMC had 17 more assists than TSU (22-5).
23: Kuhse now has 23 assists in his past two games.
10: The Gaels earned 10 offensive rebounds.
UP NEXT: UTEP
Saint Mary's stays in Moraga for their next contest against UTEP on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be viewed on the WCC Network.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
TSU
SMC
FG%
.510
.536
3FG%
.444
.471
FT%
.800
.667
RB
23
30
TO
11
11
STL
6
5
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
0
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
4
FTM
1
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF/C
/ Men's BasketballMBB | Andrew McKeever Postgame vs. Florida Atlantic, 12-19-25, Presented by University Credit Union
Friday, December 19
MBB | Saint Mary's vs. Florida Atlantic Highlights, 12-19-25
Friday, December 19
MBB | Saint Mary's vs. Boise State Highlights, 12-14-25
Sunday, December 14
MBB | Highlights at Davidson, 12-7-25
Sunday, December 07
