MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary's Men's Basketball hosted Loyola Marymount on Thursday night and continued to do what has been a trend for the last few weeks. The Gaels played great defensively early in the game, and they were able to make enough shots to pull away and not let the opponent get too close late. That formula has led to a six-game winning streak, with the latest being a 76-62 win on Thursday night. The Gaels improve to 15-4 (4-0) while sending the Lions to 12-7 (2-3).
 
GUARDS = GOOD
Thursday night was all about guard play for Saint Mary's, as they were able to get some of the best performances on the season from Logan Johnson and Aidan Mahaney. While Johnson came on strong in the second half, it was Mahaney who grabbed headlines, tying a career-best with 25 points. Mahaney got his 25 points in a much different way than he did in the opener, where he shined from three-point range. On Thursday, he was 8-12 from inside the arc, while making all three of his free throws. He scored 15 points in the first half, tying the most he's had in any half (15 in first half vs. Academy of Art, Jan. 3).
 
Johnson was also stellar in his own right, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the second half. All seven of his baskets were scored near the rim, with Johnson proving to be on his A-game when it came to attacking the basket. He also finished second on the team with six rebounds, and led the Gaels with five assists. Johnson was locked up all night Cam Shelton for LMU, and while he still managed to score 16 points, he was not efficient, going just 6-16 and 0-2 from distance. The two starting guards in the backcourt for SMC scored 44 of the team's 76 points.
 
NEVER GETTING CLOSE
It took a good chunk of the first half before the Gaels began to expand their lead, but once they did, LMU never got back closer than 10 points. A 6-0 run, capped off by a free throw from Johnson, made it a 23-13 lead with 6:07 remaining, and from there, the lead would stay relatively consistent between 10-15 points. Neither team had a run larger than five points in the second half, but the Gaels did get a good showing from Alex Ducas in the second stanza, who scored eight points and knocked down a pair of triples. He reached 13 in the game, just a tick above his season average.
 
LEADING TO A WIN
The Gaels have struggled all season at the line, but turned in their best performance of the season by going 16-21 (76.2%)…SMC has now shot above 73% in three-straight games from the free throw line…Saint Mary's only had eight bench points, with four of those coming from Joshua Jefferson on free throws…the offensive glass has been a strong point for the Gaels this year, and that led to a 15-3 difference in second-chance points…the Gaels also held onto the ball well, only turning it over six times…Mitchell Saxen added 11 points to join Mahaney (25), Johnson (19), and Ducas (13) in double-figures.  
UP NEXT
Another tough road test is on the horizon for the Gaels, as they head across the Bay to take on the San Francisco Dons on Saturday night at 8:00 pm. Last year, the Gaels fell into a massive 23-point hole in the first half before coming with 48 points in the second half to stun the Dons 72-70. Saturday's game will be televised on regional networks, including NBC Sports Bay Area. SMC has also won six-straight against the Dons, dating back to 2019.