Saturday, February 27
Provo, UT
7:00 p.m.
Saint Mary's College of California
13-8,4-6WCC
51
at
65
BYU
19-5,10-3WCC
1
2
F
Saint Mary's (CA)
18
33
51
BYU
23
42
65
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Cougars Pull Away From Gaels in Second Half
2/27/2021 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PROVO, Utah — Saint Mary's stayed within a few possessions of BYU for the first 25 minutes of Saturday's game but a big second half run by the Cougars would prove to be the difference maker as SMC fell 65-51 in the final game of the regular season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels were down just five at halftime and took a brief lead over the Cougars minutes into the second half. Matthias Tass hit a three to give SMC a 26-25 advantage two minutes into the final half and then Tommy Kuhse hit a jumper seconds later to put his team up 28-27.
Over the next eight-plus minutes, BYU separated with a 21-4 run to go up by 16. The Gaels continued to chip away for the final eight minutes of the game but would not be able to cut the deficit below double-digits.
Logan Johnson once again led Saint Mary's in scoring with 17 points. He was the team's most efficient player by going 6-for-12 from the field and also made five of his six free throws.
Dan Fotu picked up his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The junior hit a 3-pointer just seconds before the final horn to accomplish the feat. Tass added 12 points and six rebounds.
The Gaels locked down BYU in the first half and held the Cougars to shoot just 23 percent in the opening 20 minutes. SMC unfortunately could not get their offensive footing in the half either and BYU took a 23-18 lead into halftime.
Saint Mary's shot 41 percent overall and 36 percent from 3-point land in the second half but couldn't keep pace with the red-hot Cougars who went 16-for-24 in the period.
Trevin Knell led BYU with 15 points and made four 3-pointers.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
26: Saint Mary's scored 26 points in the paint.
9: The Gaels turned the ball over just nine times.
8: Tonight was Johnson's eighth straight game with double-digit points.
4: Four players played 32 or more minutes in the game for SMC.
UP NEXT: WCC TOURNAMENT
Saint Mary's will now head to Las Vegas for the conference tournament. The team's seeding in the tournament will be determined later tonight.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels were down just five at halftime and took a brief lead over the Cougars minutes into the second half. Matthias Tass hit a three to give SMC a 26-25 advantage two minutes into the final half and then Tommy Kuhse hit a jumper seconds later to put his team up 28-27.
Over the next eight-plus minutes, BYU separated with a 21-4 run to go up by 16. The Gaels continued to chip away for the final eight minutes of the game but would not be able to cut the deficit below double-digits.
Logan Johnson once again led Saint Mary's in scoring with 17 points. He was the team's most efficient player by going 6-for-12 from the field and also made five of his six free throws.
Dan Fotu picked up his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds. The junior hit a 3-pointer just seconds before the final horn to accomplish the feat. Tass added 12 points and six rebounds.
The Gaels locked down BYU in the first half and held the Cougars to shoot just 23 percent in the opening 20 minutes. SMC unfortunately could not get their offensive footing in the half either and BYU took a 23-18 lead into halftime.
Saint Mary's shot 41 percent overall and 36 percent from 3-point land in the second half but couldn't keep pace with the red-hot Cougars who went 16-for-24 in the period.
Trevin Knell led BYU with 15 points and made four 3-pointers.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
26: Saint Mary's scored 26 points in the paint.
9: The Gaels turned the ball over just nine times.
8: Tonight was Johnson's eighth straight game with double-digit points.
4: Four players played 32 or more minutes in the game for SMC.
UP NEXT: WCC TOURNAMENT
Saint Mary's will now head to Las Vegas for the conference tournament. The team's seeding in the tournament will be determined later tonight.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
SMC
BYU
FG%
.328
.426
3FG%
.250
.474
FT%
.667
.625
RB
34
43
TO
9
10
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
17
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF/C
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