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USDvsSMCdec31

Moraga, Calif. -- The USD Toreros battled hard but came away with a 72-60 loss against the No. 19 ranked Saint Mary's Gaels. Senior Brett Bailey paced the Toreros with 19 points, while Tyler Williams just missed out on a double-double with 13 points and 9 rebounds. Saint Marys' (12-1, 2-0 WCC) was paced by center Jock Landale with 14 points and 9 rebounds.

The Toreros got off to a fast start in jumping out to a 9-2 lead. Juwan Gray capped off his early 5 points with a three-pointer at the 15:55 mark. After a brief Saint Mary's rally, the Toreros pushed ahead to a 14-9 lead when Tyler Williams scored on a put-back off a Frank Ryder miss with 10:45 to go. The Gaels answered with 5 straight points before Olin Carter III buried a long three to just beat the shot clock buzzer to make it 17-14 with 8:36 left.

Saint Mary's made back-to-back threes to go up 22-19 with 7:01 left. Guard Joe Rahon made the first from the top of the key, while Tanner Krebs converted his third trey from the left wing. The Gaels closed out the final 2:22 of the half with a 7-0 run. Jordan Ford hit a three; Dane Pineau scored inside on a power move and Ford capped it off with a lay-in. For the half SMC made 5-of-9 three-pointers and out-rebounded USD 19-10. USD was paced by Tyler Williams and Olin Carter III, each with 7 points.

In the second half the Toreros opened with a 4-0 run with buckets from Gray and Brett Bailey to pull within 33-29. A Gray three-pointer from the right wing at the 17:09 mark made it 37-34, but SMC guard Emmett Naar answered with a bucket and Calvin Hermanson converted a three-point play for a 42-34 score and the Gaels' largest lead of the game. Brett Bailey would convert his own three-point play inside to pull the Toreros within 42-37.

With his fourth made three in four attempts beyond the arc, Tanner Krebs would help SMC reach their biggest lead of 55-41 with 8:03 to go. Torero center Frank Ryder would convert four free throws, and Tyler Williams would bank in a trey from the top of the circle to make it 59-48. For most of the second half every time the Toreros scored, the Gaels seemed to have an answer. Over the final 11 minutes of action the closest USD would get was within 10 points with 1:30 to go with the score 65-55 following a Frank Ryder free throw.

For the game USD shot 42.9% from the floor (18-42). Besides Bailey (19) and Williams (13) the Toreros received double-digit scoring from Juwan Gray and Olin Carter III, each with 11. Saint Mary's had six players score 9 or more points and the Gaels shot 51.1% for the game.

The Toreros (7-7, 0-2 WCC) continue league play next week with a home game against Pacific on Thursday, January 5th. Game time is 7:05 pm at the Jenny Craig Pavilion. USD will close out the week at Pepperdine on January 7th with a 1:00 pm contest in Malibu.