Gaels guards continue strong road show

Maybe all St. Mary’s needed to get going in WCC play was to leave Moraga for a while.

The Gaels opened conference play with three losses, all at home, but they responded by winning two on the road.

On Saturday, St. Mary’s led almost the entire way and held off USF 6763 on the Hilltop.

“I just feel like we’re getting better. We need to keep improving,” St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said in a postgame phone interview. “We want to keep moving the chains in the right direction.”

The Gaels (115, 23) got big games from guards Logan Johnson, who had 20 points on 10for15 shooting, and Tommy Kuhse, who had 18 points, including a 9for9 performance at the line.

USF (108, 44) was led by its guards, Jamaree Bouyea (21 points) and Khalil Shabazz (16), but they combined to go 14for35 from the floor and 6for12 at the foul line.

“The freethrow line was the thing that sticks out the most to me,” USF head coach Todd Golden said in a separate phone interview. “We missed the front end of a 1and1 late. (We) go 8for14. They went 12for14.

“Fourpoint game, it’s relatively simple that way, but it was a big part of it, especially down the stretch.”

St. Mary’s led by 15 late in the first half and was up 4229 at the break. The Dons then opened the second half on a 142 run to cut their deficit to 4443. Forward Josh Kunen sparked that USF stretch with three 3pointers, the last of which banked home.

St. Mary’s responded by scoring the next eight points, the last six of those by Johnson. That bumped the Gaels’ edge to 5243.

Johnson believes the Gaels still can put together a strong season, particularly after swingman Alex Ducas — who has missed more than a month because of an ankle injury — returns.

“I think this team has a lot to prove,” Johnson said. “I think we have a lot to prove to ourselves as well about how good we can actually be. I feel like the sky is the limit for this team.”

With about two minutes to go and the Gaels in front 5958, Johnson drove the lane and dished to Kyle Bowen for a layup. Then after Shabazz committed a turnover, and Bowen found Johnson cutting for a layup to put the Gaels up 6358.

It was 6361 with eight seconds to go before Kuhse nailed both ends of a 1and1.

After Bouyea converted a layup, the Dons fouled sophomore guard Quinn Clinton with two seconds left. He had attempted only six foul shots all season, but he also connected on both ends of a 1and1 to clinch the win for St. Mary’s.

Bouyea hit a 3pointer to give USF a 32 edge not quite two minutes into the game. It would be the Dons’ last lead.

The subplot in the Gaels

Dons matchup is the dynamic between Bennett and Golden, who spent four seasons (200408) as a guard playing for Bennett and the Gaels. St. Mary’s is 30 against USF since Golden became the Dons’ head coach.

“There’s no extra competitive deal going on at all,” Bennett said. “You’re trying to help your team give itself the best chance to win. I never even think about it. I just know I know that guy standing over there on the other sideline. He’s a heck of a guy.”

Said Golden: “I want to find a way to get over the top against these guys. I think we’ve had some opportunities the last two years since I’ve had the job, and haven’t been able to get it done.

“So, we’ve got to see what we’ve got in Moraga in a couple of weeks” — a rematch on Feb. 25.

Briefly: Bennett said Ducas, who went through warmups Saturday, might be able to return Thursday night when St. Mary's hosts Portland.