Moraga, Calif.------ San Jose State's best stretch of basketball at Saint Mary's McKeon Pavilion was a 2:36 span early in the first half as the Spartans overcame a 9-0 deficit to tie the score at 9-9. An Oumar Barry steal led to a Noah Baumann pass to Brae Ivey for a three-point basket and the tie.
Surrounding that Spartan spurt, San Jose State (3-9) was tied up and could not get on a track consistently on either end of the floor in a 75-45 loss to the Gaels to conclude its non-conference schedule.
Four turnovers on San Jose State's first four possessions of the game set an ominous tone. The Spartans matched a season worst 13 first-half turnovers and finished with 19 for the contest.
San Jose State only trailed 19-17 after a Baumann three-pointer from beyond the top of the key with 10:45 remaining in the half.
That was it in the scoring column for San Jose State the remainder of the half. The Gaels took advantage of every opportunity on both ends of the floor scoring the last 25 points before intermission for a 44-17 lead.
The second half was not much better for the Spartans that finished with a season scoring low. Saint Mary's (9-6) never let its lead drop below 25 points and led by as many as 35.
Barry led San Jose State in scoring with 11. Baumann and Michael Steadman each finished with 10. The Spartans converted just 32.0 percent of their field goal tries and just 7-of-12 from the free throw line.
Tanner Krebs came off the bench for Saint Mary's and was the game's high scorer with 20 points including 6-of-9 from thee-point range. Guard Jordan Ford chipped in with 16.
San Jose State opens Mountain West play, Wednesday, January 2, hosting Fresno State at The Event Center in a 7:00 p.m. game.
