PROVO, Utah — Saint Mary's Men's Basketball ended a 10-day hiatus by returning to action on Saturday night inside the Marriott Center, beginning West Coast Conference play against the BYU Cougars. As always when the Gaels and Cougars meet, the contest is physical and full of energy, and Saturday was no exception. Despite a better second half, the Gaels still fell to BYU 52-43 in their first conference game of the season, dropping to 12-4 overall while BYU improves to 14-3 (2-0).
 
FIRST HALF FOLLIES
The first half had a similar flow to that of the Utah State game one month prior, where the Gaels came out of the gates without much offense. The difference this time around was that SMC scored the first seven points of the game to quiet the BYU crowd. Logan Johnson had a steal and a slam, while Matthias Tass added a backwards-through-the-legs pass for an assist on a Kyle Bowen layup, adding to those first seven points. Unfortunately, the Gaels offense stalled out, going just 7-26 (26.9%) in the first half, and 1-9 from beyond the arc. Despite forcing seven BYU turnovers, the Gaels turned it over 10 times.
 
SECOND HALF GAELS
So often this season, Saint Mary's has begun to find rhythm offensively in the second half, and Saturday's game against BYU was no exception. Saint Mary's came out of the gates knocking down five of their first seven shots in the first half, nearly equaling the number of baskets they made in the entire first half. Alex Ducas got going during that span, including hitting what was his second three-pointer of the night, to spur the Gaels offense. Despite the loss, the Gaels outscored BYU by three in the second half, continuing a strong trend they've had all season.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
Tass became the first Gael this season to record a double-double by finishing with 13 points and 15 rebounds, the 15 boards being a career-best…it also marks the first-career double-double for the senior out of Estonnia…the 16 points scored in the first half are tied for the fewest the Gaels have scored in a half this year (16, at Utah State on December 2)…BYU made nine-straight shots to close out the first half (five) and to open the second half (four)…offensive rebounds have been a strength of the Gaels all season long, but they allowed 10 to BYU despite grabbing 16 of their own.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will stay on the road for their next West Coast Conference game, which is scheduled for Thursday night against Pepperdine. The Gaels and Waves will meet for the first time this league year in Malibu, with a tip-off time scheduled for 8:00 pm. The game will be broadcast locally in the Bay Area on NBC Sports Bay Area. Saint Mary's split with Pepperdine last season, including a loss on the road on February 13 before beating the Waves in Moraga just nine days later.
 
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