NCAAB Game Recap - Saint Mary's at California
Sat Dec 14, 2019 10:30 PM EST

E KY
67
Lou
99
F
UMKC
57
Kansas
98
F
Oreg
71
Mich
70
F(OT)
Gonz
84
Ariz
80
F
GaTec
53
KY
67
F
StLou
61
Aub
67
F
Mem
51
Tenn
47
F
Drake
47
Dayt
78
F
MSU
72
Oakl
49
F
South
41
Butl
66
F
Del
70
Vill
78
F
Seton
48
Rut
68
F
Xav
78
Wake
80
F
KSU
61
MissSt
67
F
IPFW
65
IUPUI
74
F
App
81
How
59
F
Syr
79
GTown
89
F
Princ
80
FaDi
65
F
Dart
76
Boston
78
F
(N/A)
60
Elon
91
F
Tuls
79
Ark
98
F
Nich
57
WVU
83
F
NJIT
71
StFNY
73
F
TN-M
72
UNCA
91
F
(N/A)
79
JU
93
F
IL-C
65
DeP
86
F
HolyC
72
Canis
80
F
CenMI
76
Tex
87
F
LIU
74
Rider
89
F
Duques
71
Radf
49
F
Bama
71
PSU
73
F
AlaAM
74
Mia-FL
88
F
Morg
68
LaSal
85
F
Merrim
63
Hartfo
71
F
NCC
71
CoCar
91
F
Army
89
Buff
76
F
UCLA
61
ND
75
F
Lamar
50
TCU
79
F
AF
79
Denv
75
F
NFla
72
USM
69
F
MTSU
64
Miss
82
F
Toled
80
Detr
72
F
Web
49
Utah
60
F
UCSB
61
S UT
62
F
(N/A)
50
StBon
75
F
HiPt
64
FAU
81
F
Campbl
67
ECU
79
F
Mayv
60
SDak
96
F
Sac
58
SCla
60
F
USF
91
CS-Ful
69
F
UL
59
LaTec
77
F
Charl
71
Rich
78
F
Winth
73
Furm
80
F
ArkPB
46
OrSt
80
F
ASU
57
Bois
100
F
Okla
75
WichSt
80
F
ODU
55
Ill
69
F
Stan
78
SJSU
58
F
CSBak
70
Ida
76
F(OT)
NMSt
62
NM
69
F
Evans
72
WIGB
62
F
Niag
80
Albany
84
F
W MI
59
Manh
58
F
Colg
67
Cin
66
F
WilBa
59
NOrl
103
F
(N/A)
54
Gram
82
F
CenAR
79
Pepp
92
F
BYU
68
UtSt
64
F
UGA
59
AzSt
79
F
E IL
75
WIMil
68
F
Lib
61
Vand
56
F
HCU
84
Rice
96
F
(N/A)
57
ORU
69
F
Stony
78
Prov
82
F
(N/A)
63
UAB
75
F
N CO
74
Wyo
53
F
ULM
59
SFA
66
F
NoAZ
79
UtVal
73
F
Fres
62
CAPoly
37
F
BethC
68
CBU
87
F
UCDav
54
USD
58
F
(N/A)
63
UCIrv
120
F
StMar
89
Cal
77
F

Dec 14, 2019, 10:30 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

Saint Mary's

45

44

89

California

29

48

77

Ford, Fitts pace Saint Mary's past California 89-77
Sun Dec 15, 2019 1:39 AM

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) Malik Fitts got Saint Mary's rolling early with his perimeter shooting. Jordan Ford kept the Gaels going after California cut their double-digit lead in half.

Ford scored 32 points, including 13 straight late in the second half, and the Gaels beat California 89-77 on Saturday night.

Fitts had a season-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting and matched his career high with five 3-pointers for Saint Mary's (10-2).

"It's kind of like a pick your poison type of deal," Ford said. "One of us is probably gonna have a good game. Hopefully both of us. When I come off a pick-and-roll they're kind of not sure who to guard, playing with that throwback to Malik is always fun."

Dan Fotu added seven points and nine rebounds as the Gaels beat the Golden Bears for the third time in three years. The two San Francisco Bay Area schools are within 14 miles of each other.

Six days after falling to No. 14 Dayton to snap an eight-game winning streak, Saint Mary's pulled away in the first half behind Fitts' hot hand then held on late behind Ford after California closed a 19-point deficit to as little as eight.

Fitts made his first five 3-pointers and had 21 points in the first 20 minutes as the Gaels pulled away and led by 17 before halftime. The 21 points by Fitts matched his total in the loss to Dayton.

"When you give a great shooter a wide open shot it's going to go in, and we gave him some wide open shots," California coach Mark Fox said. "Our lack of poise late in the first half cost us. Those guys have played a lot of games and their experience showed."

Saint Mary's coach Randy Bennett said the 1-2 scoring punch of Fitts and Ford was pivotal on a night when no other Gaels player reached double figures.

"It was a good win for us," Bennett said. "We had two guys that went off. Had we not had one of those guys go off I don't know if we would have separated like that."

Andre Kelly had a career-high 26 points for the Bears (6-5). Matt Bradley added 14 points and Grant Anticevich scored 11.

California's loss ended its eight-game home winning streak dating to last season.

"When we had hard time scoring in the first half we let that frustration go to the other end," Fox said. "We made some serious mental errors which allowed open shots against a great 3-point shooting team, and they'll make you pay. And Saint Mary's did."

Saint Mary's made five consecutive 3s during one stretch in the first half, three by Fitts and two from Alex Ducas.

BIG PICTURE

Saint Mary's: The Gaels have responded to both of their losses this season with blowout wins, the type of resiliency that Bennett wants from his team. Fitts is helping alleviate some of the pressure off Ford's shoulders, and his early scoring helped Saint Mary's set the tone. The Gaels will need to get more scoring from the rest of the team once they get into conference play but for now, the Fitts-Ford tandem is doing pretty well.

California: The Bears didn't get many calls to fall their way and it led to Fox being whistled for a technical foul early in the second half. Kelly's scoring was big and kept California within striking distance in the second half. That was big on a night when leading scorer Matt Bradley had an off night shooting.

UP NEXT

Saint Mary's: The Gaels play host to Arizona State on Wednesday.

California: Plays against Boston College in the Al Attles Classic in San Francisco on Dec. 21.

--

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

Saint Mary's PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
J. Ford 32 0 2 5 1 0
M. Fitts 28 0 1 5 0 0
California PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
A. Kelly 26 0 1 4 0 0
M. Bradley 14 0 5 3 0 1

Team Comparison

StMar Cal
Points For 89 77
Field Goals 25/46-54% 28/56-50%
Three Pointers 10/15-67% 5/10-50%
Free Throws 29/33-88% 16/21-76%
Offensive Rebounds 8 6
Defensive Rebounds 25 16
Rebounds 35 27
Blocks 2 1
Steals 3 2
Turnovers 12 8
Personal Fouls 19 21
Technical Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - StMar Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Sat Dec 14 StMar 89 @ Cal 77 J. Ford 32 A. Kelly 26

Game Information

Stadium: Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California
Attendance: 5,734
Game Time: