MORAGA, Calif. — Coming off of their upset victory over 13th ranked Colorado State, the Saint Mary's Gaels will once again be away from home this weekend, as they head to Phoenix to take on UNLV as part of the 2023 Jerry Colangelo Classic. The Gaels were able to go 2-0 last week to move back to 0.500, and will now look to bring their record above the 0.500 mark for the first time since November 12. This is the Gaels third consecutive year playing in the Colangelo Classic, having downed San Diego State and Wyoming in the event last season, and fallen to San Diego State in the 2021-22 campaign.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs UNLV Runnin' Rebels
Saturday, December 16 at 5:00 PM MST/4:00 PST
Footprint Center - Phoenix, Ariz.
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FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE 2018…
The Gaels defeated 13th ranked Colorado State for their first victory over a ranked opponent on the road since their win over Gonzaga in Spokane on January 18, 2018. That win over Gonzaga was part of the Gaels program record 30-win season, as Saint Mary's became one of just three programs in the state of California to achieve a 30+ win season since 2007-08 (UCLA, San Diego State). Saint Mary's will hope that their win against the Rams will give them the boost they need to continue to string wins together after their slowest start since the 2005-06 season.
CLIMBING THE RANKS
With his corner three against Colorado State early in the first half, Alex Ducas broke a tie with Jordan Ford for fourth all-time in program history. Ducas has now drained 218 three pointers in his career, 70 behind program record holder Matthew Dellavedova. Ducas also recently crossed the 1,100 point mark, now ranked 30th all-time in scoring in Saint Mary's history. Assuming he starts against UNLV, this matchup will be his 127th appearance for the Gaels (t-11th) and his 100th start (t-10th).
ABOUT THE RUNNIN' REBELS
Like the Gaels, UNLV is also coming off of an upset victory that pulled them to 0.500 on the young season. The Runnin' Rebels defeated eighth ranked Creighton 79-64 on Wednesday evening for their first win over a top-10 team since 2020. UNLV hopes this win will help end what's been a tumultuous early stretch that saw them lose to the likes of Southern, Florida State, Richmond and LMU. Under the third year direction of Head Coach Kevin Kruger, the Runnin' Rebels hope that their upset win will spark a run that will bring them back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013. The team returns both starting wings from last year's 19-13 squad (Luis Rodriguez and Justin Webster), but graduated All-MWC point guard EJ Harkless, now with the Ontario Clippers. Filling the shoes of Harkless this season has been preseason MWC Freshman of the Year selectee Dedan Thomas Jr., who's already off to a blazing start in his collegiate career, ranked in the top-25 in assists per game and assist to turnover ratio. UNLV got a big boost in the offseason, when Oklahoma transfer Jalen Hill decided to close out his collegiate career with the Runnin' Rebels, but a wrist injury has sidelined him for the foreseeable future. Without Hill, the UNLV starting lineup is rounded out by Oklahoma State transfer Kalib Boone, who ranks eighth in the country with a 68.1% FG percentage and sharpshooting big man Isaiah Cottrell, who transferred in from West Virginia and sat out injured last season. Off the bench, expect to see Kalib Boone's brother Keylan, who transferred from Pacific, and scored 10 points in his debut against Creighton, as well as 5-11 guard Jackie Johnson III to provide a spark. UNLV's biggest struggles this season have come on the defensive side of the ball, as they are surrendering 73.1 points per contest and allowing opponents to shoot 47.7% from the field and 38.5% from three. This will be the 17th all-time meeting between the Gaels and Runnin' Rebels, with UNLV leading the all-time series 13-3. The Gaels defeated UNLV in Las Vergas 64-54 in their last meeting (11-23-2004).
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