Hot-Shooting Saint Mary’s Pulls Away Late As Tigers Close Out Road Trip

MORAGA, Calif. – Texas Southern fought to the end from the opening tip but fell victim to a barrage of three-pointers by Saint Mary’s as the Gaels nailed 16 in an 82-70 win Thursday night.
 
The Tigers put forth their most impressive start of this young season as they stormed out to a 15-2 run six minutes in. TSU, led by Michael Weathers’ seven points, played near-flawless basketball during that span as they shot 6-for-6 from the field with no turnovers. However, the good start disappeared quickly as SMC answered with a 14-0 run sparked by a trio of three-pointers to move ahead 16-15 with 9:42 left.
 
With the game balanced out, both teams went back-and-forth over the final 9:17 as the lead shifted sides several times. Both teams remained red-hot from the field but SMC went 4-for-4 from the three-point line over the final 2:44 and outscored TSU 12-5 to claim a 39-35 halftime lead.
 
The Tigers closed to within 39-37 after a pair of Weathers’ free throws less than a minute into the second half but two three-pointers by the Gaels pushed their lead up to 45-37 over the next minute. SMC’s lead would grow to as large as 10 minutes later but the Tigers fought back and cut its deficit to five (56-51) at the 10:35 mark on Galen Alexander’s three-point play. TSU made it a game and closed to within 59-55 with 8:55 remaining following Karl Nicholas’ layup.
 
With the game coming down to the wire, the contest turned back into the Gaels’ favor as they nailed four consecutive three-pointers over a 2:48 stretch to up their lead to 71-57 with 6:27 left. That proved to be the difference as the contest was played evenly over the final 5:25.
 
Weathers led TSU with 23 points, four steals and a pair of blocks on 8-of-12 shooting. Alexander finished with 13 points and five boards while Nicholas added 12 points and six rebounds.
 
After spending more than a week on the road, TSU is headed back home for a well-needed break as their next game isn’t until Dec. 15 at Auburn in Auburn, Ala.