MORAGA, Calif. — With two weeks of conference play in the books, Saint Mary's aims to play a pair of conference games for the first time this season. The Gaels will host Santa Clara on Thursday night at 6:00 pm on CBS Sports Network before heading down to Loyola Marymount on Saturday at 7:00 pm on ESPNU.
 
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels (13-4, 1-1) vs. Santa Clara Broncos (11-6, 1-1)
Thursday, January 20 at 6:00 pm PT
University Credit Union Pavilion – Moraga, Calif.
Television: CBS Sports Network (Chick Hernandez, Pete Gillen)
Live Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen, Dave Lewis)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | Get Tickets
All-Time Head-to-Head Record: 95-137, last meeting on 1/9/21, Gaels 64, Santa Clara 66
 
Saint Mary's Gaels at Loyola Marymount Lions (8-7, 1-2)
Saturday, January 22 at 7:00 pm PT
Gersten Pavilion – Los Angeles
Television: ESPNU (Eric Rothman, Corey Williams)
Live Audio: The Varsity Network (Alex Jensen, Brian Brownfield)
Watch | Listen | Live Stats
All-Time Head-to-Head Record: 97-54, last meeting on 3/6/21, Gaels 52, LMU 47
 
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Mary's played at Pepperdine on January 13 and scored their first WCC win of the year, beating the Waves 77-62. Saint Mary's enjoyed their best shooting game on the road this season, shooting 52.9% from the floor and an even 50% (12-24) from the beyond the arc. The Gaels never trailed en route to their win over Pepperdine, and got the second-consecutive double-double from Matthias Tass in the win (10 points, 11 rebounds). Tommy Kuhse scored 16 points, the most he has scored off the bench this season.
 
JOHNSON JUST DELIVERS
Saint Mary's wasted little time getting the offense rolling on Thursday night, and Logan Johnson was the reason why. On the first two possessions of the game for SMC, Johnson knocked down three-pointers, one from each side of the court. He played the entire first half and his numbers showed that, putting up 16 points in the opening stanza including three triples. Despite cooling off in the second half, Johnson still finished the game with 20 points, including 3-5 from beyond the arc. It's the fourth time in the last six games for Johnson in which he has scored at least 10 points.
 
ABOUT SANTA CLARA
The Broncos got off to a fast start this season, winning their first five games of the year, including two against quality opponents (Stanford, TCU). Part of what makes the Broncos strong defensively is their ability to prevent teams from getting to the line, with the fifth-best rate of preventing teams from shooting free throws. When healthy, Josip Vrankic is the straw that stirs the drink, averaging 14 points per game while shooting 55.2% from the floor. Keshawn Justice, who hit the game-winning three-pointer in this matchup a year ago, is averaging 14.9 points per game and lighting it up from distance to the tune of a 43.9% clip.
 
ABOUT LOYOLA MARYMOUNT
The Lions play Pepperdine on Thursday night, with a chance to improve to 2-2 in WCC play before meeting the Gaels. Like every team in the conference, they endured a COVID-19 pause, and came out of it losing their first two conference games before beating Portland 70-58 on Monday. Turnovers have been a problem for the Lions this season, averaging 15.7 turnovers per game, and four times this year they've turned it over at least 20 times. Eli Scott has been on a tear in the first three WCC games, averaging just over 20 points per game (61 total points), including a 29-point game against San Diego.
 
DIGITAL GAMEDAY PROGRAM
All Saint Mary's Men's Basketball gameday programs will be virtual during the 2021-22 season, and the fourth edition can be found HERE. In it, fans will find a recap of non-conference play for the Gaels, as well information on the first West Coast Conference games of the 2022 portion of the season.
 
2021-22 YEARBOOK
The 2021-22 Saint Mary's Basketball Yearbook is available HERE. This contains all of your information on both Saint Mary's basketball programs, coach and player profiles, as well as Saint Mary's, administration, and fan information.
 
#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