LOGAH, Utah — The Saint Mary's Men's Basketball team has a knack for low-scoring games that come down to the wire. Thursday night's game against Utah State was no different, as the Aggies held the lead for much of the game. Once the Saint Mary's offense kick-started, they were able to navigate the Aggies and the raucous crowd to win in the final seconds over Utah State, with a 60-58 final. Alex Ducas hit the game-winning free throws to push the Gaels to 8-1.
 
THE FINAL MOMENTS
Alex Ducas was the man of the minutes for Saint Mary's, first putting the Gaels up 58-56 with 1:59 left in the game on a driving layup. Utah State battled back and tied the game on a pair of free throws with less than one minute left in regulation, and the Gaels held possession to try and go up. A turnover gave it back to Utah State for what could be the final possession, but an Aggie foul on Ducas with 0.9 seconds left put the junior at the line with a one-and-one. With a deafening noise from the Aggies crowd, Ducas nailed both free throws and the Gaels held their ground on a potential tip-in from Utah State to secure the win.
 
20 In 20
The Saint Mary's defense continued to post strong numbers on Thursday night, especially in the first half. Utah State scored just 20 points in the first half against the Gaels, shooting just 37.5% from the floor and going just 1-6 from beyond the arc. What's more, the Aggies turned the ball over times thanks to the SMC defense, with Logan Johnson, Matthias Tass, and Kyle Bowen each recording steals. This is the second-best first-half performance from the Gaels defense this season, with only 16 points against Southern Utah standing as a better opening-half performance.
 
SECOND HALF RAINSTORM
After going 0-12 in the first half from beyond the arc, Saint Mary's started to make it rain inside the Spectrum. The Gaels went 7-11 from three-point land in the second half, with six different Gaels making shots from beyond the arc. Tommy Kuhse hit a pair of three-pointers in the second half, and Dan Fotu hit a big corner three to put Saint Mary's up briefly late in the second half. At the same time, Saint Mary's held the Aggies to just 3-15 from distance in the entire second half, and 2-9 in the second stanza.
 
HOW IT WAS WON
The rough start shooting the basketball was erased in the second half, as the Gaels went 17-26 from the field for a 65.4% field goal percentage…the Gaels out-rebounded the Aggies 33-31, snapping a streak of 48-straight games where Utah State had out-rebounded the opposition…when the game was on the line, the Gaels began to shoot even better: SMC finished the game making 9 of their last 10 shots…Kuhse passed current Recruiting Coordinator Joe Rahon in career assists at Saint Mary's with three in the game, giving him 383 in his career...despite getting out-shot by 13 at the free throw line, SMC was a perfect 5-5 from the line, including the game-winning free throws.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's wraps up their road trip with a contest against the Colorado State Rams on Saturday at 1 pm PT. The Rams are 8-0 on the year and currently receiving votes in week four of the AP Poll. These teams met in Moraga one year ago, and the Gaels emerged victorious thanks to a dominant defensive performance in a 53-33 win. These Rams, however, have a potent offense, averaging 86.8 points per game, and shooting an impressive 53.6% from the field. The game will be broadcast on Stadium TV with Chris Hassel, Doug Gottlieb, and Jeff Goodman on the call.
 
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