MORAGA, Calif. — With the final game of the 2021 portion of the schedule at hand, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball wanted to close out non-conference with their best performance of the year. They might have achieved that on Tuesday night against Yale, with the Gaels taking command of the game early and never trailing in a convincing 87-60 win over the Bulldogs. With the win, the Gaels close out non-conference play with a 12-3 record, while dropping Yale to 6-8.
 
READY IN RED
So much has been made this season about the way the Gaels have finished games, but they came out with one of their best starts of the season against Yale. Debuting their new red alternate uniforms, the Gaels put on a show to the tune of 46 points in the first half. SMC was 19-33 from the floor in the first half, their best mark of the season, and they held Yale to just 25 points. Going +21 in the first half was the best first half Saint Mary's has put up during the 2021-22 season.
 
RED HOT
Once Matthias Tass scored 27 points against Missouri State before Christmas, he set the bar with the best point total for a Gael this year. That mark almost fell just six days later, as Logan Johnson had himself a game on Tuesday night against Yale. Johnson went off for 26 points, tying a career-best that he set against Santa Clara on January 9, 2021. It was his best game in terms of efficiency as well, going 10-14 from the floor while knocking down three treys for the first time this season. Johnson also continued to be a force on defense, swiping four steals and also blocked a shot.
 
TURNING AROUND TURNOVERS
Coming into Tuesday's game against Yale, Saint Mary's had forced just one more turnover than the opposition on the year. Those numbers got a boost in the first half and throughout the game as Saint Mary's forced the Bulldogs into a bevy of turnovers. As a team, the Gaels recorded 15 steals, and Dan Fotu was a main reason why. The senior out of New Zealand recorded four on the evening, easily doubling up his career-best. With their steals total on Tuesday, the Gaels set a new season-best, eclipsing their mark of 11 that had been done twice. On the night, the Gaels forced 23 turnovers, eight more than the previous season-best.
 
IMPORTANT TIDBITS
Tass was able to sneak by with another double-digit performance, his seventh in a row, by scoring eight points in the second half to finish with 10…one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, the Gaels were strong on the offensive glass again, grabbing 15 offensive rebounds to just three for Yale…Alex Ducas got the Gaels off to a strong start, and finished the game with 12 points on 4-7 from the floor…Tommy Kuhse tallied four assists, including the 400^th of his career in the win, now standing with 402 in his career…Kyle Bowen and Fotu led the Gaels with seven rebounds.  
UP NEXT
The new year kicks off with the first conference game of the season, as the Gaels begin West Coast Conference play against San Francisco on Saturday, January 1. The Dons are hot, with just one loss on the ledger, and are receiving votes in the final AP Poll of 2021. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion, and the game will be broadcast on Stadium. Following Saturday's WCC opener, the Gaels will play their next three in conference play on the road.
 
#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