Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Top-5 Moments: SMC Hosts Utah State (#4)
3/30/2020 1:48:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SMCGaels.com is counting down the top-5 moments from the Saint Mary's 2019-20 men's basketball season. Be sure to check back every Monday to read the latest installment of the series. Top-5 Moments is presented by University Credit Union, a proud sponsor of Gael Athletics.
MORAGA, Calif. — Coming in at No. 4 in the countdown is the Gaels' showdown with high-flying No. 15 Utah State in Moraga on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. SMC was looking to avenge a loss last year to the Aggies in Las Vegas where they were downed, 80-63.
Looking for a boost to their non-conference schedule, Saint Mary's was happy to welcome Utah State who were ranked at No. 15 in the country after beginning their season 7-0. The Aggies were riding a wave of momentum that began last season under first year head coach Craig Smith and already had a solid win over LSU on neutral court in 2019. The Gaels had not played a non-WCC top-25 team at home since 2012 (also Utah State).
The Aggies won the tip and went on to score on their first two possessions to take an early 5-0 lead in the game. The Gaels responded with three straight buckets in the paint to go up 6-5 which would ultimately set the tone for the evenly-matched midmajors.
Saint Mary's and Utah State exchanged blows for the next several minutes, going bucket for bucket and neither managing to separate by more than two possessions. With just over seven minutes remaining in the half, an and-1 by USU's Justin Bean put the Aggies up by six which was the largest lead for either team at that point. The Gaels wouldn't allow the game to get out of control however as they fought back with a pair of 2-pointers from Tommy Kuhse and Malik Fitts and would eventually tie the contest up 28-all with 4:46 to go as Fitts splashed a trey.
Matthias Tass followed up Fitts' three with a pair of layups to move SMC up four with three minutes and change remaining. Utah State kept chipping away at the lead for the remainder of the half and found themselves ahead, 36-34, as star guard Sam Merrill canned a triple in the final minute.
The second half went almost exactly as the first did with neither team giving an inch. Saint Mary's would take the lead only to have Utah State tie the ballgame up on the next possession and then retake the lead, which would then result in the Gaels tying up the score on their next time down the court and so on and so forth. With 5:19 on the clock, the score remained tied at 61-61.
The Aggies looked as if they were going to pull away late as they went up by four after a pair of made three throws a minute later but Jordan Ford delivered a much needed three to ice the rally. An ensuing turnover would free up Fitts on a breakaway dunk and give SMC a one-point advantage with 3:29 left.
On Utah State's next trek down the court, Bean grabbed an offensive board and was fouled in the process to allow him two shots at the charity stripe. He converted both to put the Aggies up one but then the tides began to change in favor of Saint Mary's.
Ford regave the Gaels the lead as he hit another triple, his fifth of the game. SMC got a stop and then Tanner Krebs cashed in from beyond the arc to move the Gaels ahead by five with 1:53 left, marking their largest lead of the contest. Another missed bucket by Bean would set up a Tass dunk to get the already-rowdy Gael crowd buzzing as victory was near.
As Utah State continued to jack up desperation threes in the final minute, all the Gaels had to do was collect the rebounds and make their free throws, which they did. SMC made seven of their final eight shots at the line to secure the win 81-73 in front of a sold out home crowd and national television audience on ESPNU.
"We hit some timely shots," said head coach Randy Bennett after the win. "We made some stops defensively which is tough to do and this is the win we needed for our confidence as a team. Down the stretch, a lot of guys made big plays and we needed that."
All told, the epic contest had 23 lead changes and 13 ties. Ford was excellent with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting while Fitts also broke the 20-point plateau with a 21 point, 11 rebound double-double. Tass provided a needed offensive boost with 15 points and also had a team-high five assists.
Saint Mary's outscored Utah State by 10 in the final half which was largely influenced by the teams' perimeter shootings. The Gaels made five of their 11 tries from deep in the final 20 minutes while USU was just 3-for-12. Additionally, SMC managed to keep the Aggies' star Merill in check after the halftime break as he scored only eight points after totaling 15 in the opening half.
The win over USU marked the Gaels' sixth dub in a row. SMC went on to win seven of their next eight with the only loss coming against one of the top program's in the country, Dayton. Utah State fell just out of the requirements for a Quad 1 game according to the NET rankings but still represented a strong Q2 game for the Gaels, who ended the season 5-1 in such contests.
#GaelsRise — Join the Season Ticket Waitlist today to be part of the Gaels 2020-21 season by clicking HERE. Current season ticket holders can renew their seats HERE and logging in at the top of the page. Email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu with questions.
MORAGA, Calif. — Coming in at No. 4 in the countdown is the Gaels' showdown with high-flying No. 15 Utah State in Moraga on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. SMC was looking to avenge a loss last year to the Aggies in Las Vegas where they were downed, 80-63.
Looking for a boost to their non-conference schedule, Saint Mary's was happy to welcome Utah State who were ranked at No. 15 in the country after beginning their season 7-0. The Aggies were riding a wave of momentum that began last season under first year head coach Craig Smith and already had a solid win over LSU on neutral court in 2019. The Gaels had not played a non-WCC top-25 team at home since 2012 (also Utah State).
The Aggies won the tip and went on to score on their first two possessions to take an early 5-0 lead in the game. The Gaels responded with three straight buckets in the paint to go up 6-5 which would ultimately set the tone for the evenly-matched midmajors.
Saint Mary's and Utah State exchanged blows for the next several minutes, going bucket for bucket and neither managing to separate by more than two possessions. With just over seven minutes remaining in the half, an and-1 by USU's Justin Bean put the Aggies up by six which was the largest lead for either team at that point. The Gaels wouldn't allow the game to get out of control however as they fought back with a pair of 2-pointers from Tommy Kuhse and Malik Fitts and would eventually tie the contest up 28-all with 4:46 to go as Fitts splashed a trey.
Matthias Tass followed up Fitts' three with a pair of layups to move SMC up four with three minutes and change remaining. Utah State kept chipping away at the lead for the remainder of the half and found themselves ahead, 36-34, as star guard Sam Merrill canned a triple in the final minute.
The second half went almost exactly as the first did with neither team giving an inch. Saint Mary's would take the lead only to have Utah State tie the ballgame up on the next possession and then retake the lead, which would then result in the Gaels tying up the score on their next time down the court and so on and so forth. With 5:19 on the clock, the score remained tied at 61-61.
The Aggies looked as if they were going to pull away late as they went up by four after a pair of made three throws a minute later but Jordan Ford delivered a much needed three to ice the rally. An ensuing turnover would free up Fitts on a breakaway dunk and give SMC a one-point advantage with 3:29 left.
On Utah State's next trek down the court, Bean grabbed an offensive board and was fouled in the process to allow him two shots at the charity stripe. He converted both to put the Aggies up one but then the tides began to change in favor of Saint Mary's.
Ford regave the Gaels the lead as he hit another triple, his fifth of the game. SMC got a stop and then Tanner Krebs cashed in from beyond the arc to move the Gaels ahead by five with 1:53 left, marking their largest lead of the contest. Another missed bucket by Bean would set up a Tass dunk to get the already-rowdy Gael crowd buzzing as victory was near.
As Utah State continued to jack up desperation threes in the final minute, all the Gaels had to do was collect the rebounds and make their free throws, which they did. SMC made seven of their final eight shots at the line to secure the win 81-73 in front of a sold out home crowd and national television audience on ESPNU.
"We hit some timely shots," said head coach Randy Bennett after the win. "We made some stops defensively which is tough to do and this is the win we needed for our confidence as a team. Down the stretch, a lot of guys made big plays and we needed that."
All told, the epic contest had 23 lead changes and 13 ties. Ford was excellent with 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting while Fitts also broke the 20-point plateau with a 21 point, 11 rebound double-double. Tass provided a needed offensive boost with 15 points and also had a team-high five assists.
Saint Mary's outscored Utah State by 10 in the final half which was largely influenced by the teams' perimeter shootings. The Gaels made five of their 11 tries from deep in the final 20 minutes while USU was just 3-for-12. Additionally, SMC managed to keep the Aggies' star Merill in check after the halftime break as he scored only eight points after totaling 15 in the opening half.
The win over USU marked the Gaels' sixth dub in a row. SMC went on to win seven of their next eight with the only loss coming against one of the top program's in the country, Dayton. Utah State fell just out of the requirements for a Quad 1 game according to the NET rankings but still represented a strong Q2 game for the Gaels, who ended the season 5-1 in such contests.
#GaelsRise — Join the Season Ticket Waitlist today to be part of the Gaels 2020-21 season by clicking HERE. Current season ticket holders can renew their seats HERE and logging in at the top of the page. Email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu with questions.
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