PORTLAND, Ore. — No. 15 Saint Mary's Men's Basketball needed a bounce-back performance on Saturday afternoon, and that's exactly what they got in the Rose City. After a sluggish start against the Portland Pilots, the Gaels locked them down in the second half and got another career-best performance from Logan Johnson to beat the Pilots 81-64. With the win, Saint Mary's improves to 22-5 (11-1) and will keep sole possession of first place in the conference standings with four games to play.
 
ZERO DOUBT
Few players in the country figure to be as hot as Logan Johnson is over the last game and a half. After scoring 23 points in the second half and overtime against LMU on Thursday, Johnson was the best player on the floor out of the gates in the first half on Saturday. Johnson scored 20 points in the first 20 minutes, including 8-8 from the line, giving him an insane 43 points over a 45-minute stretch. For the game, Johnson finished with a stat line of 34 points, with six rebounds and six assists. He scored 34 on just 18 shots, and was 8-9 from the free throw line. Johnson finishes the week with 65 points, the most across any stretch by a Gael this year.
 
SAME, BUT DIFFERENT
After the Gaels took just a one-point lead into the break, they came out in the second half with some much-needed urgency and confidence. Saint Mary's scored the first 16 points in the second half, and thanks to a combination of turnovers and rebounds by the Gaels, they held the Pilots to just four shot attempts during that 6:30 run. Aidan Mahaney got the first five points of the half, including a three-pointer, and then the Gaels hit three more triples in a row, with Ducas hitting two of those. A Mitchell Saxen dunk, representing his first points of the afternoon, capped off the run at 16-0 and sent a jolt into the Chiles Center from the many Gaels fans in attendance. The Gaels started the first half against LMU with a 16-0 run, but this time, they would not relinquish the lead.
 
QUITE THE DIFFERENCE
What a difference two days made, as the Gaels put together a great second half after letting one slip away on Thursday. On the strength of that 16-0 start to the half, the Gaels outscored the Pilots 42-26 in the second half, and the numbers were staggering. Saint Mary's righted the ship and shot 53.3% in the second half, while holding the Pilots to just nine made shots and 2-8 from beyond the arc. The Gaels were also +10 on the boards in the second half, a theme of the game. Johnson had 14 in the second half to lead all scorers while no Pilot had more than six.
 
AMONG OTHER NUMBERS
Saint Mary's led by one point at halftime despite allowing the Pilots to shoot 57.7%, while the Gaels were just 36.4%...the rebounding numbers in this game were gaudy in favor of the Gaels, who finished +19 on the glass…even better, Saint Mary's won the battle 19-5 on offensive rebounds, which led to a 30-8 difference in second chance points…Justin Jefferson played a big role with some other Gaels in foul trouble, scoring five points with five rebounds and three assists …Ducas was the next best Gael on the floor from an offensive standpoint, as he finished with 18 points, and all of his points came from beyond the arc (6-10 on 3FGs).
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels will remain on the road to start the penultimate week of the regular season, when they return back to SoCal for a matchup against the San Diego Toreros on Thursday. The game will tip-off at 6:00 pm and will be televised on regional sports networks around the country, including NBC Sports Bay Area back home. The final game of the week will be back at home on Saturday night as the Gaels host BYU on ESPNU. That game against the Cougars will be the final regular season game between the two teams as conference rivals, and also serves as Paint Moraga Red Night.