PORTLAND, Ore. — March Madness arrived on Thursday as Saint Mary's, entering as a No. 5 seed, squared off with No. 12 seeded Indiana inside the Moda Center. For a Saint Mary's team making their first appearance as their best seed ever, they sure didn't look like it. The Gaels muscled their way past Indiana 82-53 for their sixth-ever win in the NCAA Tournament. Saint Mary's is now 26-7 on the season and advances to the Second Round for the third time in program history.
 
FIRST HALF SHIFT
Saint Mary's found themselves on the short end of the stick early in the first half, but they never faced a sizeable deficit. Indiana never led by more than four points in the first half, but the Gaels closed out the opening chapter strong. SMC went on a 23-7 seven run after trailing 21-17, flipping the game on its heels. Part of the reason for the explosion was the play of Alex Ducas, who began to light up the scoreboard from distance. He closed out the opening half with 11 points, including 3-5 from distance. It helped that the Gaels held the Hoosiers to just one of their final eight from the floor, aiding the extended run and the 12-2 run over the final 4:31 of the half.
 
SECOND HALF SURGE
The Gaels didn't need to make many changes in the second half, as they took advantage of what could have been a worn-down Hoosiers squad. Saint Mary's blitzed the Hoosiers to the tune of a 42-25 thumping in the second half, where the Gaels owned every aspect of the game. SMC shot 56.7% from the floor in the second half compared to just 26.9% for Indiana, who failed to make a shot from beyond the arc. Points in the paint were also heavily in favor of the Gaels, by a 20-10 margin.
 
TOP PERFORMERS
Logan Johnson and Tommy Kuhse were the stars for Saint Mary's on offense. Johnson finished the game an efficient 8-13 from the floor, scoring 20 points. He also added six rebounds, three steals, and one assist in one of his best games of the season. Kuhse continued to be a force from the point guard position, going 6-15 from the floor and 3-6 from distance en route to 19 points, while also adding six assists. Ducas had a hot start to the game, scoring 11 of his 13 points in the first half.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
Points off of turnover were heavily in favor of Saint Mary's, as the Gaels held a 26-8 advantage despite winning the turnover battle by just three…Matthias Tass made it four Gaels in double-figures, as he scored 12 and was the leading rebounder for SMC with seven…Indiana did not make a basket for the first six minutes of second half…the Saint Mary's defense held Indiana to 1-17 shooting over a 9-plus-minute span that went into the second half)…the Gaels exploded for their biggest run of the season against the Hoosiers, outscoring Indiana 50-12 from 8:35 of first half to 9:29 remaining in the game.
 
NCAA TOURNAMENT FACTS
The win on Thursday marks the largest margin of victory in an NCAA Tournament win for Saint Mary's, and the largest margin of defeat in NCAA Tournament history for Indiana…the 82 points put up by the Gaels are the second-most they've scored in an NCAA Tournament game (85, VCU, 2017)…Saint Mary's made 10 shots from beyond the arc on Thursday, the most they've ever made in an NCAA Tournament game.
 
QUOTABLES
"We played well. That's one of the things I told our team is enjoy this thing and you've got to play well. I think they were really focused on that. So, we shot it well. I thought after the first ten minutes we defended well. First ten minutes I didn't think were great defensively. After that we did, and I think we wore them down. Proud of them. Indiana's a good team and obviously a great, great program. So, we understand what just happened. We beat a really good program." – head coach, Randy Bennett
 
"We're a gritty, not pretty team. Like I said, we're going to find ways to get it done. We know, once we get going defensively, and especially offensively, that that's when teams are in trouble and they really find out what they're stepping foot into. Because anybody can say what they want. Oh, Saint Mary's is a small school, Saint Mary's this, mid-major this, mid-major that. You don't really know until you step foot into the arena and you realize it's five-on-five, and you have to defend us just like we defend you." – Logan Johnson
 
"I think part of it is just not playing in a week. There's a little getting your legs back under you and getting a little rhythm. We had a lot of confidence in ourselves coming in, and we knew, hey, just keep our composure, we'll be all right, and just keep fighting through. We did. We had a breakthrough in the first half that got us a little bit of a lead, and then second half we played really well." – Tommy Kuhse
 
UP NEXT
Saint Mary's will now move on to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017 and the third time in program history where they will face the winner of the No. 4 UCLA and No. 13 Akron game. Tip-off of Saturday's second round game, along with television information, will be announced after play on Thursday night. Another win for the Gaels would vault them to the Sweet 16 for just the second time in program history.