MORAGA, Calif. — Back at home with the end of non-conference play near, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball was looking to get back on track after a defeat against San Diego State on Friday night. A tight game at half opened up in the second half as Saint Mary's does what Saint Mary's does best: outscore teams in the second half. The Gaels went +20 over Missouri State in the second stanza on Wednesday night to beat the Bears 75-58, improving to 11-3 while dropping the Bears to 8-5.
 
KEEP FEEDING THIS GUY
One constant for Saint Mary's over the last seven games has been the play of Matthias Tass. The senior out of Estonia has been on a tear as of late, and he saved his best performance for Wednesday night. For the second time this season, Tass set a career-best in points by putting up 27 against Missouri State. He was extremely efficient from the floor as well, going 12-15 shooting the basketball, and making all three of his free throws. He couldn't be stopped in the second half, racking up 17 of his points after halftime. In the last seven games, Tass is averaging 15.9 points per game and is shooting an incredible 67.1% from the floor.
 
SECOND HALF MAGIC
So many times this season, Saint Mary's has been a bit flat in the first half only to crank it up in the second half. Wednesday's game against Missouri State marked the fourth time this year the Gaels have been +15 or better in the second half against an opponent. After trailing by three points at halftime, the Gaels scored 42 in the second half and held the Bears to 22 points. Offensively, SMC turned it up to 60.7% from the field, while holding MSU to just 34.6% and 2-10 from beyond the arc.
 
LINEUP SHUFFLE
For the first time this season, Saint Mary's ran out a different starting lineup. Augustas Marciulionis drew the start over Tommy Kuhse, but with the second half, Kuhse was on the floor more than Marciulionis. As soon as Kuhse was inserted into the game, it seemed like there was a special burst in his play. Kuhse delivered with one of his best games of the season, scoring 16 points and leading the Gaels in rebounds with seven. He also dished out five assists, putting him just two assists away from 400 in his illustrious career.
 
THESE THINGS ALSO HELPED
With the lineup shuffle, Logan Johnson played a pivotal role on offense and delivered, scoring 13 points in his best game since the Southern Utah game in the third game of the season…Johnson also added five assists, part of 16 from the Gaels…50 of the Gaels 75 points came in the paint, and the team only attempted 10 three-pointers…SMC hauled in eight offensive rebounds, helping the Gaels out-rebound the Bears 34-22…every Gael who played at least three minutes was a positive in the plus/minus ratio, with Kuhse leading the way at +23.  
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will take a few days off around the Christmas holiday and prepare to take on Yale in their final non-conference game of the regular season on December 28. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion. After the Yale game, Saint Mary's will begin West Coast Conference play by hosting San Francisco on New Year's Day with a 5:00 pm tip-off.
 
#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