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SMC California Athletics

Saint Mary's College Athletics Gaels
Jordan Ford
Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
76
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 24-7,11-5 WCC
86
Winner Gonzaga Gonz 29-2,15-1 WCC
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC
24-7,11-5 WCC
76
Final
86
Gonzaga Gonz
29-2,15-1 WCC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Mary's (CA) SMC 34 42 76
Gonzaga Gonz 34 52 86

Game Recap: Men's Basketball |

MBB | Gaels Battle From Start to Finish in Spokane

SPOKANE, Wash. — The Gaels gave No. 3 Gonzaga a tough challenge Saturday night in the McCarthey Athletic Center but came up just short in a 10-point loss to close out the season. Saint Mary's finishes the regular season 24-7 and 11-5 in conference play. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford led Saint Mary's efforts with 28 points while converting 12 of his 21 tries. The senior also had team-highs in steals and assists with three each. 

Malik Fitts scored 15 with 11 of those coming in the second half. Tanner Krebs added 10 and Dan Fotu posted eight before fouling out in the final minute. 

After being tied up at the half, Gonzaga was the first team to separate as Corey Kispert hit a three to put the Bulldogs up by 10 with 13 minutes to play. 

Saint Mary's pulled within five late with a 7-0 run spearheaded by Ford and Fitts but Gonzaga responded by hitting a three and getting a putback layup to jump back up by 10 with 67 seconds remaining. 

Saint Mary's was tied with Gonzaga going into the half at 34-all. Although SMC didn't score for nearly the final four minutes of the period, the defense managed to keep GU off the board for the last 106 seconds. 

The Gaels began the contest hot offensively by making eight of their first 12 attempts. Saint Mary's led for the first seven and a half minutes of the ball game before a Kispert layup put Gonzaga up 19-18. 

Jock Perry was vital for the team's offense towards the back end of the half as he scored seven straight while Fotu and Aaron Menzies sat in foul trouble. Neither team managed to get a leg up on each other during the period as the biggest lead for either team was just four. 

Filip Petrusev scored 27 for the Zags and was 11-of-13 on free throw attempts. Kispert added 20 points and Killian Tillie provided 13 of his own. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
46: Both teams scored 46 points in the paint. 
9: Saint Mary's had nine steals in the game. 
86: The Gaels shot 86 percent from the charity stripe (12-of-14). 
49: SMC shot 49 percent from the floor.

UP NEXT: CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Saint Mary's travels to Las Vegas for the WCC Championship next. The Gaels will play on Saturday as the No. 3 seed against the winner of Pepperdine and LMU/San Diego.
 
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