Men's Basketball Faces Loyola Marymount, San Francisco This Week

MORAGA, Calif. — Saint Mary’s (9-5, 0-3 WCC) will look to get off the schneid this week on the road as they face Loyola Marymount on Thursday before taking on San Francisco on Saturday. 

GAME INFORMATION
Game 15 vs. Loyola Marymount Lions
Date/Time: Thursday, Jan. 21 at 5:00 p.m. PT
Location: Gersten Pavilion (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Live Stream: WCC Network on Stadium (Anne Marie Anderson, Doug Gottlieb) 
Radio: TuneIn (Alex Jensen)
Gaels' all-time head to head record: 95-54 (Last meeting: 2/20/20, H, SMC 57 — LMU 51)

Game 16 vs. San Francisco Dons
Date/Time: Saturday, Jan. 23 at 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: Warm Memorial Gymnasium (San Francisco, Calif.)
TV: CBS Sports Network (Rich Waltz, Dan Dickau) 
Radio: TuneIn (Alex Jensen)
Gaels' all-time head to head record: 83-101 (Last meeting: 1/23/20, H, SMC 58 — USF 48)

ABOUT THE LIONS
LMU is 7-4 this year and 2-1 in conference play. The Lions just defeated San Diego in overtime by three points on Tuesday and are now 7-0 at home this season. The team is led by first year head coach Stan Johnson. 

Eli Scott is the Lions’ all-conference player and he currently leads the team in scoring with over 15 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per. Redshirt sophomore Douglas Dameane is contributing 13.6 points per contest and sharpshooter Joe Quintana is adding 9.6 more on offense while shooting 45 percent from beyond the arc. 

Saint Mary’s has a dominant 95-54 record all-time against the Lions and have owned the series in recent years with 16 straight wins versus LMU. The Gaels have won 26 of the last 27 meetings and haven’t lost on the road to Loyola Marymount since 2006. 

ABOUT THE DONS
San Francisco is 9-7 this year and 3-3 in league play. The Dons posted a signature win earlier this year as they took down No. 4 Virginia but have also had a few tough losses against UMass Lowell and Cal. USF is coming off a 9-point loss to BYU at home and will face Santa Clara in Santa Cruz before hosting the Gaels. 

Jamaree Bouyea has been one of the WCC’s top scorers this year at 17.4 points per game and also leads USF in assists with 61. Khalil Shabazz is the Dons’ other top threat at 15.6 points per game and makes over 80 percent of his free throws. As a team, San Francisco has taken 495 3-pointers this year and made them at a 36 percent clip. Conversely, USF has allowed just 248 triples to be taken and opponents have made only 27 percent of those tries. 

The Gaels have won the last three meetings against the Dons and 10 of the previous 12 matchups. From 2006 to 2014, SMC won 17 straight contests against USF. 

RECAP VERSUS NO. 1 GONZAGA
Dan Fotu had one of the best games of his career as he went for 15 points and seven rebounds in a personal-best 38 minutes. Fotu was the team's most efficient shooter as he knocked down six of his 10 tries including three treys. 

Logan Johnson posted 12 points with five scored at the free throw line and had a season-high four assists. Tommy Kuhse added 10 and seven dimes. 

Saint Mary's defense held the Zags to their lowest scoring total of the season and just 32 points in the first half. The Gaels were up 22-12 after a Fotu triple which put the Zags in the largest hole they've faced this season. However, an ensuing 16-2 run by GU would put them back up late in the period and up seven at half. 

Fotu and Quinn Clinton hit back to back threes around the 16-minute mark of the second half to cut the Gaels' deficit down to just eight. The score fluctuated around the 10-point mark over the next several minutes but a Fotu layup would make it a 56-48 game with nine to play. Unfortunately for the Gaels, Gonzaga responded with a 13-3 run to take their biggest lead of the game at 18 with 4:01 remaining and ice the victory.

BEEN HERE BEFORE
Two years ago, Saint Mary's was 8-6 through their first 14 games of the year after falling on the road to Western Kentucky. The Gaels turned their season around once they reached conference play however and finished the year 14-6 and made the NCAA Tournament after upsetting No. 1 Gonzaga in the WCC Championship