MORAGA, Calif. — Back inside University Credit Union Pavilion on Thursday night, No. 22 Saint Mary's Men's Basketball got the kind of performance they needed. After a seven-game winning streak was snapped on Tuesday night, they got back to their winning ways with an 86-57 win over the San Diego Toreros, their first matchup between each other during the 2021-22 season. With the win, the Gaels snagged win #20 on the year and improved to 20-5 (8-2) while the Toreros dropped to 13-12 (6-6).
 
TURN ON THE JETS
Saint Mary's has played its best basketball of the season, but they sure turned on the heat with just over seven minutes remaining in the first half. With the score 22-18 in favor of SMC, the Gaels began to do whatever they wanted on offense, and their defense clamped down on the San Diego offense. The result was a 20-3 run that put the game out of reach, 42-21 at the half. A key contributor during the run was Logan Johnson, who continued to be electric defensively. Johnson put up four steals in the first half alone, and the WCC's leader in steals turned that into consecutive slams on the other end of the floor, at one point making it 30-18. Saint Mary's wrapped up the first half shooting 53.3%, a welcomed sight after Tuesday's loss.
 
RETURN TO FORM
After struggling in a few areas that they are normally strong at, the Gaels returned to form on Thursday night against the Toreros. SMC was all over the boards against USD, out-rebounding the Toreros 37-25, including 10-7 on the offensive glass. Playing stronger on the defensive glass translated directly to an increase in points in the paint, where the Gaels held the advantage to the final of 44-22. The Gaels were also strong passing the ball, recording 17 assists compared to just three for USD. Seven Gaels recorded at least two helpers, while Matthias Tass and Luke Barrett led the way with three.
 
GAELS RISE
Most of the top performances for the Gaels came early on, as no player was needed for more than Johnson's 27 minutes. Johnson was one rebound shy of his first collegiate double-double, scoring 16 points and adding a career-best nine rebounds, while tying a career-best with five steals. Tommy Kuhse was strong off the bench yet again, scoring 13 points on 5-8 from the floor. Alex Ducas was about as efficient as he has been all season, scoring 12 points on just six shots, going 5-6 from the field and adding five rebounds.
 
THESE THINGS ALSO HELPED
That 20-3 run that ended the first half became a 28-3 run after the Gaels scored the first eight points of the second half, making it their largest run of WCC play…Augustas Marciulionis had his best game since December, scoring nine points on 4-7 from the field…Judah Brown added eight points off the bench, Leemet Bockler scored five, and Barrett grabbed three rebounds to go with his helpers…a rarity for the Gaels, they scored 15 points on the fast-break…Saint Mary's extended a streak of consecutive made free throws at home to 30 after going 10-10…with SMC winning for the 20^th time this season, it marks the 15^th 20-win season for the Gaels under head coach Randy Bennett, and the 14^th time in the last 15 seasons.  
UP NEXT
For the first time this season, No. 22 Saint Mary's and No. 2 Gonzaga will lock up, with the Gaels heading to Spokane for the first matchup. The Gaels and Zags will play on Saturday night at 7:00 pm PT on ESPN2. Dave Flemming, Sean Farnham, and Molly McGrath will be on the call, with Alex Jensen on The Varsity Network. This is the first of two meetings between these two in the regular season, as the Zags will head to Moraga to close out the regular season on February 26.
 
#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