LAS VEGAS – The Saint Mary's Gaels (2-2) once again came out of the gates hot, but struggled to get anything going in the second half, eventually falling to San Diego State (3-1) 79-54. The Gaels led for a majority of the first half, and trailed by only one at the halftime break, but were limited to just 21 second half points, while the Aztecs put up 45 en route to the victory.

The Gaels shook off a slow start in the first half, taking their eventual first lead at the 13:07 mark of the first half. That lead would hold for nearly 12 minutes, but the Aztecs continued to chip away, earning 18 free throw attempts and converting on 12 to eventually regain the lead. At halftime, San Diego State clung to a 34-33 lead. Joshua Jefferson was the driving force for the Gaels in half one, with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists, all team highs, in his homecoming game.

The Gaels would regain a three point lead early in the second half at 41-38, but were limited to just four made field goals throughout the remainder of the contest, as the Aztecs closed out the game on a 41-13 run over the final 17:08.

Mitchell Saxen put up 16 points and eight rebounds to lead the Gaels, while Joshua Jefferson scored 12 with five rebounds and a team leading four assists.

TOUGHNESS ON THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
The Gaels once again outpaced their opponent on the offensive glass, the third time in four tries this season. Mitchell Saxen led the way with seven of his eight rebounds coming of the offensive variety. In fact, more than half of Mitchell's points tonight were generated off of one of his offensive boards.

HOT START FOR JEFFERSON 
Joshua Jefferson got off to a red hot start, either scoring or assisting on each of the Gaels first six buckets. He finished the first half with 12 points, five rebounds and two assists. Unfortunately, the Aztecs were able to key on Jefferson down low in the second half, and without much room to operate, he was limited to no points. Jefferson was able to make a couple of savvy plays as a post passer, amassing two more assists, giving him a career-high with four. 

BARRETT A BRIGHT SPOT
Luke Barrett matched a career-high tonight, playing 21 minutes, and serving as the Gaels leading scorer and rebounder off the bench. The 6-6 Barrett is known for his tenacious rebounding, as he ripped down two offensive and two defensive boards, and was also able to match his season best, scoring five points. Barrett entered the game at the 11:42 mark of the first half, and buried a triple less than two minutes on the court off a nice feed from Chris Howell, giving the Gaels their largest lead of the night at 19-14. Barrett's second bucket was also rather timely, cutting the Gaels deficit to five points at 49-44 at the 12:46 mark of the second half, this time off of a nice dish from Jordan Ross. Now a redshirt junior, Barrett will serve as an upperclassmen leader when called upon to spell the likes of Alex Ducas. 

UP NEXT
The Gaels will face either Xavier or Washington in Sunday's consolation game inside T-Mobile Arena. Tip-off for that game will be at 4:30 PM on November 19.

DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE. 

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