MORAGA, Calif. — Friday night hoops were in session inside University Credit Union Pavilion, with Saint Mary's back to work after a strong season opener. The Gaels welcomed in Texas Southern for the second time in as many seasons, and like last year's 12-point win, the Tigers gave the Gaels all they could handle. Using a big run in the second half, Saint Mary's was able to pull away from Texas Southern to the tune of a 67-58 win to improve to 2-0 on the young season, while dropping the Tigers to 0-2.
 
OUT ON THE RUN
Texas Southern hung tight with Saint Mary's all night to the tune of a 43-43 tie with just 12 minutes remaining in the game. That's when the Gaels turned on the burners and began to feed off of the energy inside University Credit Union Pavilion. Saint Mary's kickstarted a 17-2 run that extended seven minutes in game action, and suddenly found themselves in front 60-45. Dan Fotu scored the first five points on that run, including an and-one that gave the Gaels the lead. After that, Logan Johnson took over the game. Johnson made three layups, including a fast-break layup that forced Texas Southern to call a timeout and send the crowd into a frenzy.
 
SECOND HALF = STRONG
For the second game in a row, the Gaels saved their best basketball for the second half. After a sluggish first half that saw SMC score just 28 points, the Gaels upped that total to 39 in the second half on 51.9% shooting from the floor. Just as important as the offensive numbers were the defensive numbers, where the Gaels continued to tighten up. Saint Mary's held Texas Southern to just 38.5% shooting from the floor and only two made three-pointers in the second half. Also important to the second half was the rebounding totals, where the Gaels were +6 in the rebound department in the second stanza.
 
FOTU FANTASTIC
While the second half saw Saint Mary's kick it up on offense, Fotu was a strong presence all night long. The senior out of New Zealand set a new career-best on Friday night with 19 points, eclipsing his previous personal-best of 17 that he put up as a sophomore against Seattle. Fotu made five shots on the night but was also 8-9 from the free throw line, contributing 8 of the 12 free throws made by Saint Mary's. He also played a steady defensive game, adding nine rebounds.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
The strong second half from Johnson pushed his point total to 15, second best on SMC…Matthias Tass was the leading big man for the Gaels, with 12 points on 5-8 shooting, while he led the team with four assists…Kyle Bowen was nearly able to replicate his form from the first game of the season, adding nine points (3-4 from distance) with seven rebounds…the three triples from Bowen were the most he's made in a game in his collegiate career…Saint Mary's has out-rebounded the opponents in both games, going +4 on the glass against Texas Southern, and 11-9 on the offensive glass.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's remains at home for the next two games after the weekend, as the Gaels bring on Southern Utah for a Monday night showdown. Tip-off for Monday's game is set for 7:00 pm, and then the Gaels will turn around and host Bellarmine on Wednesday night at 7:00 pm to conclude the opening home-stand.  
#GaelsRise — 2021-22 tickets and ticket packages are on sale now! To purchase tickets, click HERE. If you have questions, contact the ticket office by email smctickets@stmarys-ca.edu or call 925-631-4689…Saint Mary's Basketball…#TogetherAgain