FRISCO, Texas — Saint Mary's (14-10, 4-6 WCC) went down to the wire with Western Kentucky (21-7, 11-3 C-USA) in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament but couldn't pull off the comeback win in a 69-67 loss. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
After trailing by 11 with under 12 minutes to play, the 2-seeded Gaels clawed their way back and eventually tied the game in the final minute. Alex Ducas had eight points in the waning minutes and hit a triple with 46 seconds left to put Saint Mary's up two. 

WKU star center Charles Bassey made a dunk on the opposite end to tie things up 11 seconds later. Saint Mary's had the ball on the next possession with a few seconds difference on the shot clock and game clock but a turnover with under 10 to play would give the Hilltoppers the ball back. 

WKU was fouled and converted both free throws to take a 2-point lead with 3.3 seconds remaining. Matthias Tass ended up taking the final shot for the Gaels from beyond the arc but his last ditch effort missed off the glass. 

Tommy Kuhse had one of the best stat lines of his career as he scored 17 points on 6-of-12 shooting and picked up 11 assists for his second career double-double. Tass posted 13 points and eight boards while Ducas was the third Gael in double-figures with 11 points, all scored in the second half. 

Saint Mary's trailed by seven at the break, 38-31. Kuhse lessened the deficit with a last second floater that found nothing but net as the buzzer sounded. The senior finished the half with seven points and five assists while Dan Fotu led the team with eight points. 

SMC had a promising start to the game as an early 7-0 run put them up 13-6 and gave the team a lead they would hold for the first 10 minutes. Western Kentucky answered back with a 15-3 run of their own to go up by nine with just under five minutes remaining in the half. 

Taveion Hollingsworth had 21 points in the win for WKU while Bassey added 19. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
4: WKU had four turnovers in the game but entered Wednesday averaging over 14 per contest.
16: Saint Mary's had 16 assists in the game. The Gaels were 46-4 in games with 10+ assists over the past three seasons before tonight's contest. 
48: SMC shot 48 percent overall from the floor, better than their 42 percent season average. 
18: The Gaels scored 18 points off their bench. 

UP NEXT
Barring any schedule changes, Saint Mary's will finish the season with a 14-10 record and a postseason appearance for the 14th straight season.