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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Jordan Ford shoots vs USD
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
63
San Diego SD 9-20,2-12 WCC
92
Winner Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 23-6,10-4 WCC
San Diego SD
9-20,2-12 WCC
63
Final
92
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
23-6,10-4 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
San Diego SD 34 29 63
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 38 54 92

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Gaels Win Big on Senior Night

MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's had a picture perfect ending to their home schedule slate by taking down San Diego 92-63 in front of a sold out University Credit Union Pavilion. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford celebrated Senior Night by putting up 22, grabbing a season-high eight rebounds, and dishing out three assists in what could be his last ever game in Moraga. Malik Fitts was equally unstoppable for SMC with 27 points and 19 in the final half. The redshirt junior was 10-for-16 on shooting and made five of his six tries from beyond the arc. 

Saint Mary's other three seniors also scored in the win. Tanner Krebs scored seven, Aaron Menzies started for the Gaels and had four points and four rebounds, and Dan Sheets scored his third career bucket with an impressive fadeaway in the final minute. 

After going bucket for bucket with the Toreros for the first 24 or so minutes of the game, the Gaels finally broke free in the latter half. Saint Mary's made 14 of their first 18 shots in the second half to jump ahead by 22. Saint Mary's would eventually stretch that lead out to 31 with three minutes to play. 

The Gaels shot 56 percent overall and 64 in the second half. SMC won the battle on the boards, 35-31, and recorded 14 assists. 

The Gaels held a 38-34 edge going into the halftime break. SMC went on a 13-2 run to end the half and were led by Ford who scored 12 points in the opening 20. The Gaels shot 47 percent while USD shot 48 percent. 

San Diego went up by seven late in the first half thanks to a 9-0 run but the Gaels quickly responded with a Krebs three and Fitts fastbreak dunk just 19 seconds apart to break that lead down to two. Fitts would add another layup and Fotu chipped in a layup to put SMC back up with 90 seconds to go in the period. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
  • 35: Total points scored by SMC seniors tonight. 
  • 3: The Gaels committed only three turnovers in the game, a season-low. 
  • 46: Saint Mary's made 46 percent of their threes (10-of-22). 
  • 52: The Gaels scored 52 points in the paint compared to 38 for USD. 
QUOTABLE
Randy Bennett: "We had a good finish to the end of the half that we carried into the second half. It was an overall team effort, with [Tommy] Kuhse, [Malik] Fitts, and [Jordan] Ford contributing a lot. Senior night is always emotional and those guys who have spent four or five years here have made a lot of sacrifices for this program so to have their last game here is always tough. [Dan] Sheets had a legendary ending and to go out like that is pretty special because he is as important of a leader as any of them. It was a big week for us so it was good to be able to cap it off with a win on senior night."

Jordan Ford: "Everybody played well as a collective and it was great to feel the excitement from the crowd, it always gets us pumped. Coach Bennett did a really good job of getting us ready for tonight and I feel that it was a great way to celebrate us seniors."

Dan Sheets: "The best part about that last bucket was the reaction from my teammates. It's probably been one of the best parts about being here is the comradery among the team and the way the guys treat each other like family."

UP NEXT: SANTA CLARA
The Gaels will face the Broncos on the road on Thursday at 7 p.m. The game can be viewed on CBS Sports Network. 
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