SYDNEY — After a long night and day of travel, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball arrived in Australia on Thursday morning. The team left San Francisco on a non-stop flight Tuesday night, and arrived early morning in Sydney. All told, the team spent nearly 18 hours getting to Sydney after some delays pushed back their initial departure from SFO.
 
One of the Gaels who arrived in Australia for the first time is redshirt freshman Chris Howell, who is on his first international trip. As someone who had never left the United States before, there is a lot of anticipation for this excursion from Howell. 
 
"This is an amazing opportunity just to leave the country for the first time," explained Howell. "It's a milestone in life. Something I would love to take away from this trip is just getting closer to the guys. Getting to continue to grow with them on the court this time, rather than just off the court. Being able to play with them is something I'm really excited for."
 
While excitement was high throughout the team upon arrival, it was up a couple of notches for Kyle Bowen, one of the three Gaels from Australia. He has been looking forward to the opportunity to show his teammates around his home country, and he was beaming when asked about it.
 
"We got three tour guides right here, and I'm one of them," Bowen said with a chuckle at the end. "One of the things I'm most excited for is the food. I've already got Logan Johnson complaining that the bacon looks a different, the meat looks a little weird. But they are going to learn that the food over here is fresh, better than anything you can get in California."
 
Specifically, Bowen wants to get the team to a good seafood location. With Sydney specifically being surrounded by the coast (along with Melbourne and Perth, where the Gaels will be heading later), he knows the quality will impress his teammates.
 
The first day down under began right away once the team landed, as the Gaels quickly hopped on their team bus and went to get a stretch and a light practice in. Saint Mary's practiced on Thursday afternoon at the City of Sydney Basketball Association, the home of the Sydney Comets.
 
Most of the initial practice for SMC was spent getting loose and getting acclimated to their new surroundings, after a long day in the air. Practice concluded with about 15 minutes of shooting, where the Gaels were split up into veterans and underclassmen, competing to see which group could knock down the most shots.
 
Midway through their first day in an Australian gym, the team got a great surprise when Alex Ducas walked through the doors. After his call-up to the Australian Boomers in the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, Ducas had been at home in Western Australia before joining the team in Sydney on Thursday. 
 
"Obviously I miss being around the boys every day," Ducas told SMC Athletics, after joking that he didn't miss them at all. "Just being with them every day and going through the hardships and stuff. I've really missed them on the court and off the court."
 
After a quick stop near Bondi Beach for lunch and the Gaels made it back to their hotel, where the families of Kyle Bowen and Harry Wessels were waiting to greet the team and their sons. Both Bowen and Wessels were with the team in Moraga this summer leading up to the foreign tour.
 
A morning practice is on the schedule for Friday morning as the Gaels begin preparations for their first game of the foreign tour. Saint Mary's will square off with the Hills Hornets on Sunday afternoon, or Saturday night back in the Bay Area. Local tip-off time of that game is set for 3:00 pm, or 10:00 pm on Saturday in California.
 
Saint Mary's 2022 Foreign Tour Game Schedule
Date           Team                                Site                                          Time (Local)   Streaming
Aug. 7        Hills Hornets                    Castle Hill, Sydney                 3:00 pm           LISTEN
Aug. 8        Centre of Excellence        Alexandria, Sydney               10:00 am
Aug. 9        Melbourne United            Keilor Park, Melbourne          7:30 pm           LISTEN
Aug. 10      SE Melb Phoenix             Wantirna South, Melbourne   7:30 pm           LISTEN
Aug. 12      Perth Wildcats                  Floreat, Perth                          TBA               
Aug. 14      Joondalup Wolves           Joondalup, Perth                    5:00 pm           LISTEN