PHOENIX — Saint Mary's Men's Basketball returned to the Footprint Center on Wednesday night for their second appearance in the Jerry Colangelo Classic this season. Taking on the Wyoming Cowboys, an NCAA Tournament team last year, the Gaels ebbed and flowed their way to a 66-54 victory over the Pokes, getting back on track after a loss on Sunday. Saint Mary's heads into the holidays with a 10-4 record while dropping Wyoming to 5-7.
 
OUT ON THE RUN
After trading buckets for the first few possessions of the game, the Gaels pulled ahead with a furious first half run that created a good bit of distance between them and the Pokes. The Gaels used an 18-2 extended run to turn what was a 5-2 deficit into a 20-7 lead over the span of roughly five minutes. Mitchell Saxen went off for six points during that stretch, while Logan Johnson added seven. Once the Gaels pushed the lead up to 13, it never got closer than seven points for the remainder of the first half.
 
TWO-HEADED MONSTER
So often, Saint Mary's has a balanced attack with several guys getting involved and making shots to get the offense going. On Wednesday, it was fueled by Saxen and Johnson almost exclusively. The two combined for 29 of the team's 34 first half points, with Saxen going off for 15 and Johnson adding 14. Their final totals remained impressive, as both set career-bests. Johnson ended the game going 12-22 from the field for 28 points, while Saxen tied his career-best of 19 points for the fourth time this season. The junior center also added nine rebounds to pace the Gaels.
 
DOWN TO ONE
Despite holding a 10-point lead at halftime, the Gaels let Wyoming get back into the game to open up the second half. The Cowboys came out on a 12-5 mini-run over the first seven minutes to cut it to a 39-36 game, the first time it had been a one-possession game since the first five minutes of the contest. The Gaels offense was a culprit for allowing Wyoming back into the game, as the Gaels opened up the half shooting just 2-14 from the floor while missing all six shots from beyond the arc.
 
BACK UP
Part of the reason the Gaels were able to turn that three-point lead into an 18-point lead at its largest was the emergence of Aidan Mahaney. After not scoring for the first 30 minutes of the game, Mahaney scored nine-straight points for the Gaels, which coincided with a 14-2 run in favor of SMC. The run began immediately with a Johnson three-pointer to put the Gaels up 46-40 before Mahaney added his nine in a row.
 
THE NUMBERS
Johnson (28) and Saxen (19) combined for 47 of the team's 66 points, with the Gaels only getting four bench points…the other eight Gaels to play combined for 6-26 from the field…turnovers were a major factor in the outcome of the game, with the Gaels forcing 19 Wyoming turnovers and turning that into 25 points, versus just eight turnovers for SMC and only 10 opposing points off…with Mahaney getting to 11 points, he now has scored at least 10 points in nine-straight games…Saint Mary's allowed Wyoming to shoot 50% for the game, the second game in a row where the opponent has had at least 50% shooting…with 16 offensive rebounds to just five for Wyoming, the Gaels have hauled in 31 offensive boards in the last two games.
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will begin West Coast Conference play on Thursday, December 29 with a home contest against San Diego at 6:00 pm. SMC will open with three of their first four conference games at home, with a non-conference DII game against the Academy of Art sandwiched in between. The Gaels won both of their meetings against the Toreros last season, and have won 16-straight against USD dating back to 2014. Tickets for Thursday's game can be purchased online at SMCGaels.com/tickets.