Anaheim, CA – The Saint Mary's men's basketball team held off the Providence Friars in the final game of the 76 Classic, posting an 81-75 win on Sunday from the Anaheim Convention Center. SMC had four players score in double figures, as Patrick Mills led the way with 24 points.
The Gaels held a 20-point lead at halftime, and led by as much as 21 points in the second half before Providence cut the SMC lead to six points late in the game. Four of the five starters for SMC scored in double figures, and accounted for 75 of the 81 points
SMC's leading scorer, Mills, was 8-for-15 from the floor and connected on 3-of-7 3-pointers. His biggest three came with just under four minutes remaining, giving the Gaels some breathing room and a 9-point (75-66) lead.
Diamon Simpson had a season-high 18 points against a very tough and physical Big East opponent. Simpson was 5-of-07 from the floor, and had a big game from the free throw line, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the stripe. He had just five rebounds, but tied his career-high with four assists and added three steals. His final steal prevented the Friars from cutting the SMC lead to four, and resulted in the Mills three to give SMC a nine-point lead.
Ian O'Leary had his best game of the season, as he scored a season-high 13 points and added a team-high eight rebounds. He was 4-for-5 from the floor, had threes assists, one block and one steal in 22 minutes. Omar Samhan scored in double figures once again, adding 16 points and eight rebounds in a season-high 34 minutes.
Saint Mary's got off to a quick start, opening the game with a 10-0 run following threes by O'Leary and Hughes, a dunk by Simpson, and a pull-up jumper by Mills. After the Friars cut the SMC lead to three (21-18) at the 10:28 mark, the Gaels used a 6-0 burst over the next 1:28 to extend the lead back to nine.
With the Gaels leading 30-24 at the 6:46 mark, SMC went on an 18-4 run to close the half to take a 20-point (48-28) lead at the break. The run was highlighted by 10 points from Mills, which included two threes. Saint Mary's also got four points from O'Leary and two from Simpson and Ben Allen.
Mills finished the half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Simpson and O'Leary added 11 and nine respectively. The Gaels shot 57.1 percent from the floor, the best first half percentage of the young season, while shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point land, which was also the best first half 3-point shooting performance of the season. SMC forced 13 Providence turnovers with five first half steals.
With 15:10 remaining in the game, the Gaels held a 60-39 advantage following a basket by Samhan. Following the Samhan bucket, the Gaels went cold from the floor for the next four minutes, allowing the Friars to use a 10-0 run to cut the SMC lead to 11 points with 11:53 left on the clock. The scoring drought for SMC ended when Mills hit an 18-foot jumper with 11 minutes left on the clock.
After the Mills basket, Providence continued to chip away at the Saint Mary's lead. With 9:32 left to play, the Friars cut the deficit to single digits, when Marshon Brooks hit 2-of-3 free throws. Providence cut the lead to six (70-64) following a pair of made free throws by Jonathan Kale at the 5:58 mark.
With SMC leading 72-66, Simpson made a big steal under the basket which was followed by a transition three from the right corner by Mills, giving the Gaels a nine-point advantage with four minutes remaining.
Saint Mary's will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 4 with a road game at Kent State. The game between the Gaels and the Golden Flashes will tip-off at 4 p.m. Pacific Time from the 6,327-seat MAC Center on the Kent State campus (Friday 11am AEDT) .
The Gaels held a 20-point lead at halftime, and led by as much as 21 points in the second half before Providence cut the SMC lead to six points late in the game. Four of the five starters for SMC scored in double figures, and accounted for 75 of the 81 points
SMC's leading scorer, Mills, was 8-for-15 from the floor and connected on 3-of-7 3-pointers. His biggest three came with just under four minutes remaining, giving the Gaels some breathing room and a 9-point (75-66) lead.
Diamon Simpson had a season-high 18 points against a very tough and physical Big East opponent. Simpson was 5-of-07 from the floor, and had a big game from the free throw line, connecting on 8-of-10 shots from the stripe. He had just five rebounds, but tied his career-high with four assists and added three steals. His final steal prevented the Friars from cutting the SMC lead to four, and resulted in the Mills three to give SMC a nine-point lead.
Ian O'Leary had his best game of the season, as he scored a season-high 13 points and added a team-high eight rebounds. He was 4-for-5 from the floor, had threes assists, one block and one steal in 22 minutes. Omar Samhan scored in double figures once again, adding 16 points and eight rebounds in a season-high 34 minutes.
Saint Mary's got off to a quick start, opening the game with a 10-0 run following threes by O'Leary and Hughes, a dunk by Simpson, and a pull-up jumper by Mills. After the Friars cut the SMC lead to three (21-18) at the 10:28 mark, the Gaels used a 6-0 burst over the next 1:28 to extend the lead back to nine.
With the Gaels leading 30-24 at the 6:46 mark, SMC went on an 18-4 run to close the half to take a 20-point (48-28) lead at the break. The run was highlighted by 10 points from Mills, which included two threes. Saint Mary's also got four points from O'Leary and two from Simpson and Ben Allen.
Mills finished the half with 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the floor, while Simpson and O'Leary added 11 and nine respectively. The Gaels shot 57.1 percent from the floor, the best first half percentage of the young season, while shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point land, which was also the best first half 3-point shooting performance of the season. SMC forced 13 Providence turnovers with five first half steals.
With 15:10 remaining in the game, the Gaels held a 60-39 advantage following a basket by Samhan. Following the Samhan bucket, the Gaels went cold from the floor for the next four minutes, allowing the Friars to use a 10-0 run to cut the SMC lead to 11 points with 11:53 left on the clock. The scoring drought for SMC ended when Mills hit an 18-foot jumper with 11 minutes left on the clock.
After the Mills basket, Providence continued to chip away at the Saint Mary's lead. With 9:32 left to play, the Friars cut the deficit to single digits, when Marshon Brooks hit 2-of-3 free throws. Providence cut the lead to six (70-64) following a pair of made free throws by Jonathan Kale at the 5:58 mark.
With SMC leading 72-66, Simpson made a big steal under the basket which was followed by a transition three from the right corner by Mills, giving the Gaels a nine-point advantage with four minutes remaining.
Saint Mary's will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 4 with a road game at Kent State. The game between the Gaels and the Golden Flashes will tip-off at 4 p.m. Pacific Time from the 6,327-seat MAC Center on the Kent State campus (Friday 11am AEDT) .
1 comment:
I've been following the gaels for a while now on the message board at www.godisagael.com
Found a link from there that enabled me to listen to this game via web-radio
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