FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Wrapping up their first true road trip of the season, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball faced what could be argued as their most difficult test of the season. Inside Moby Arena, the Gaels squared off against the hot-shooting Colorado State Rams, off to an unbeaten 8-0 start. Their shooting was on display Saturday afternoon as the Rams were able to race past the Gaels and win 74-58. Saint Mary's ends the road trip with an 8-2 record while the Rams improve to 9-0.
 
THE EARLY DEFICIT
There weren't many differences in the first half between Colorado State and Saint Mary's, but the few difference early on helped create an 11-point deficit going into the break. Saint Mary's turned it over nine times, compared to just five for the Rams. Additionally, the Gaels made two of their three-point attempts in the opening half (Logan Johnson, Tommy Kuhse) while the Rams hit five on just eight attempts. The Gaels defense held a high-powered Rams offense to 48.1% shooting overall, but the 35 points allowed was the most allowed by SMC in the first half this year.
 
TALKIN' BOUT TASS
On both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball, it was a strong afternoon for Matthias Tass. In the first half, Tass was the man who provided sparks to the tune of 4-7 shooting for eight points, and seven total rebounds, including two of the offensive glass. He was a big part of the strong difference in points in the paint in the opening half for Saint Mary's, where the Gaels held an 18-6 advantage over the Rams. For the game, Tass finished with 10 points and nine rebounds, falling one rebound shy of what could have been his first double-double. The nine rebounds are a season-best for the senior out of Estonia.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
Saint Mary's continued to rebound well, out-rebounding the Rams 30-24, and 7-2 on the offensive glass…seven different Gaels had at least two rebounds on Saturday…the Gaels recorded just eight assists against the Rams, which is their lowest total of the season…Augustas Marciulionis scored 10 points in the game, the first time in his collegiate career that he has put up double digits (six free throws)…Judah Brown scored his first points of the season late in the second half after grabbing a tough offensive rebound, and finished with four points.
 
UP NEXT
With finals week on the way at Saint Mary's, the Gaels will have a week off until their next Saturday afternoon matchup against UC Santa Barbara. Tip-off for the December 11 game against the Gauchos is scheduled for 3:00 pm inside University Credit Union Pavilion. With the return to home, Saint Mary's will not play another true road game until WCC play begins in January.
 
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