LAS VEGAS — Saint Mary's magical West Coast Conference Tournament run came to an end on Tuesday as the Gaels (26-8, 11-5 WCC) were not able to pull off the upset of No. 2 Gonzaga (31-2, 15-1 WCC) for the second straight year in an 84-66 loss. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
Jordan Ford ended his incredible play in Las Vegas by totalling a game-high 27 points. The senior made seven of his 15 shots while knocking down all 11 free throws. Ford was on fire to begin the game, as was teammate Malik Fitts, and had 20 first half points. 

Fitts finished with 17 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds. Tommy Kuhse added 10 more and four boards. 

Ford scored the first two points of the game for SMC and Fitts would follow by scoring the next 11. The duo would go on to score the first 34 points for Saint Mary's with Ford totaling 20 of those. 

For his efforts, including his performances against Pepperdine and No. 14 BYU, Ford was named to the All-Tournament Team. He became the fourth Gael ever to be named to multiple tournament teams along with Matthew Dellavedova, Jock Landale, and Mickey McConnell. 

Also named to the team was Gonzaga's Joel Ayayi, who was named Most Outstanding Player, Drew Timme, Filip Petrusev, and Pepperdine's Colbey Ross.

Ford scored 12 straight points at one stretch during the opening 20 minutes including an 8-0 run completely on his own to put SMC up five. Kuhse finally became the team's third scorer with a made trey at 3:28 in the opening half. 

Fitts hit a fadeaway three to give Saint Mary's their first lead of the contest right before the 9-minute mark, 21-18. That lead would last for just 30 seconds however as Gonzaga scored four points on one possession after a technical foul and ensuing layup. There were four more lead changes after that point as the teams exchanged buckets. 

Saint Mary's was down by just one at halftime, 42-41. Dan Fotu scored his first points of the game on a last second inbounds play and completed the and-1 after getting slapped on the wrist. The Gaels' offense was rolling behind Ford and Fitts as they shot 58 percent and sank seven of their 11 threes. 

Unfortunately for the Gaels, they couldn't maintain the same efficiency in the latter half as they made only 32 percent of their field goal attempts. The Zags threw double teams at Ford to limit his touches and did well to defend the team's other scoring options. 

Gonzaga began the second half with a 7-0 run for their biggest lead of the contest to that point at eight. Kuhse scored five straight in response however for the Gaels to bring it back down to a one-possession contest. GU slowly chipped away to get up nine and then went on a 14-1 run to pull away late. 

The Zags came into the contest averaging over 16 assists per game but were held to just three in the first half. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
15: The Gaels were outrebounded by 15 in the game. 
21: Alex Ducas led the team with 21 minutes off the bench. 
40: Jordan Ford played all four minutes once again. 
7: SMC received seven points off their bench. 

UP NEXT: SELECTION SHOW
Saint Mary's will now await to see if their name is called at the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday beginning at 3 p.m.