Thursday, February 6
San Diego, CA
8:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
20-5,7-3WCC
66
at
60
San Diego
8-17,1-9WCC
1
2
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
24
42
66
San Diego
22
38
60
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Gaels Scrap Past Toreros for 20th Win
2/6/2020 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SAN DIEGO — Saint Mary's (20-5, 7-3 WCC) survived a off-shooting night on the road against a pesky Torero team on the road Thursday night and pulled away late to earn their 20th win of the season, 66-60.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford had a game-high 19 points while dishing out a season-best six helpers. The senior came into the game leading the nation in total minutes and played the full 40 on Thursday.
Ford hit the biggest shot of the night in the final 30 seconds with a shot clock buzzer beater that put SMC up four. The senior made a Torero fall over in the paint with a dribble move and then pulled up for a clean bank shot. The Gaels got stops in the next two possessions to preserve the nail biting win.
Malik Fitts recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds but fouled out in the final minutes. Tanner Krebs added 10 points as the third Gael in double figures.
The game was tightly officiated as a total of 46 fouls were called and a total of 51 free throws were taken. Despite struggling from the floor, SMC did their best to make amends at the charity stripe by making 21 of their 28 tries.
The Gaels ended up shooting 39 percent overall in the win but were just 1-of-15 from 3-point range. Saint Mary's came into the game leading the country in 3-point percentage.
A 1-for-12 shooting drought in the second half would allow USD to take their largest lead of the game at five with eight minutes to play. Saint Mary's would claw back however and then broke off a 7-0 run with two minutes and change remaining to go up six.
Contrasting to the Gaels' last game versus BYU, neither team started off well offensively as Saint Mary's led 16-11 at the 8-minute timeout. The Gaels woes continued throughout the opening period as they shot just 32 percent and were 0-of-9 from beyond the arc.
The Gaels finally hit their first of the game two and a half minutes into the second half as Krebs delivered on Ford's fifth assist.
San Diego (8-17, 1-9 WCC) took a narrow lead in the final minutes of the first half but Krebs would put the Gaels back up with a layup with 2:28 to play. Ford scored the final bucket of the half on a driving layup and SMC took a slight 24-22 advantage into the break.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
20: The Gaels reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th straight season.
48: Saint Mary's shot 48-percent in the final half.
30: Despite the close score, SMC led for over 30 minutes in the contest.
5: Saint Mary's scored just five points outside of the paint or off the free throw line.
UP NEXT: NO. 2 GONZAGA
Saint Mary's returns to Moraga for a big showdown with the second-ranked Zags on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets for the game are completely sold out but the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford had a game-high 19 points while dishing out a season-best six helpers. The senior came into the game leading the nation in total minutes and played the full 40 on Thursday.
Ford hit the biggest shot of the night in the final 30 seconds with a shot clock buzzer beater that put SMC up four. The senior made a Torero fall over in the paint with a dribble move and then pulled up for a clean bank shot. The Gaels got stops in the next two possessions to preserve the nail biting win.
Malik Fitts recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds but fouled out in the final minutes. Tanner Krebs added 10 points as the third Gael in double figures.
The game was tightly officiated as a total of 46 fouls were called and a total of 51 free throws were taken. Despite struggling from the floor, SMC did their best to make amends at the charity stripe by making 21 of their 28 tries.
The Gaels ended up shooting 39 percent overall in the win but were just 1-of-15 from 3-point range. Saint Mary's came into the game leading the country in 3-point percentage.
A 1-for-12 shooting drought in the second half would allow USD to take their largest lead of the game at five with eight minutes to play. Saint Mary's would claw back however and then broke off a 7-0 run with two minutes and change remaining to go up six.
Contrasting to the Gaels' last game versus BYU, neither team started off well offensively as Saint Mary's led 16-11 at the 8-minute timeout. The Gaels woes continued throughout the opening period as they shot just 32 percent and were 0-of-9 from beyond the arc.
The Gaels finally hit their first of the game two and a half minutes into the second half as Krebs delivered on Ford's fifth assist.
San Diego (8-17, 1-9 WCC) took a narrow lead in the final minutes of the first half but Krebs would put the Gaels back up with a layup with 2:28 to play. Ford scored the final bucket of the half on a driving layup and SMC took a slight 24-22 advantage into the break.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
20: The Gaels reached the 20-win plateau for the 13th straight season.
48: Saint Mary's shot 48-percent in the final half.
30: Despite the close score, SMC led for over 30 minutes in the contest.
5: Saint Mary's scored just five points outside of the paint or off the free throw line.
UP NEXT: NO. 2 GONZAGA
Saint Mary's returns to Moraga for a big showdown with the second-ranked Zags on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets for the game are completely sold out but the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Team Stats
SMC
SD
FG%
.393
.440
3FG%
.067
.308
FT%
.750
.522
RB
32
31
TO
11
11
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Pts
19
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
17
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Players Mentioned
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MBB | SMC vs. Gonzaga 2025 WCC Finals Postgame Interview
Wednesday, March 12
MBB | SMC vs. Gonzaga WCC Finals Game Highlights
Tuesday, March 11
MBB | SMC vs. Pepperdine WCC Tournament Postgame Interview
Monday, March 10
