Jan. 30, 2005
By JANIE McCAULEY MORAGA, Calif. - Daniel Kickert scored 20 of his 28 points in the second half to lead an impressive comeback by Saint Mary's in its thrilling 68-64 win over San Francisco on Sunday. The Gaels preserved sole possession of first place in the West Coast Conference with this hard-fought victory in front of a near-capacity crowd at McKeon Pavilion, where fans were treated to drama until the final buzzer. Johnny Dukes missed a free throw following his basket with 32.7 seconds left, but Tyrone Riley grabbed an offensive rebound to give USF another chance. Riley then missed a layin with 20 seconds on the clock, and Saint Mary's regained possession on a jump ball. Paul Marigney made one of two free throws with 11.5 seconds to go for the Gaels. When his second shot bounced out, Kickert grabbed an offensive rebound. Marigney was fouled again and made two more free throws with 7 seconds left to seal it and finish with 13 points, six rebounds and three assists. The Gaels' leading scorer faced constant defensive pressure. Kickert was the difference. Tentative early in the second half, coach Randy Bennett pulled Kickert out of the game briefly midway through, told him something and then sent him right back into the game. After the pep talk, Kickert began attacking the basket at every opportunity and drawing fouls on USF's big men. Kickert also added nine rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist. He made 12 of 13 free throws. "it was a great college basketball game," said Dons head coach Jessie Evans. "and as in close games, the team that makes plays down the stretch wins. St. Mary's was able to do that on their homecourt, give them credit. It is hard to win games on the road in this league. Now it is our job to defend the homecourt, starting with Pepperdine THursday night."
It was a key game for the Gaels (19-5, 6-1 WCC), who hit the road for five of their final seven WCC games - including a stop in Spokane to play Gonzaga on Thursday night. After Riley's 3-pointer with 18:38 left put USF ahead 41-29, Saint Mary's scored seven unanswered points to get back in the game. Kickert scored seven straight points during another spurt, including a three-point play that pulled the Gaels within 50-46 with 9:06 to go. Jason Walberg hit a 3-pointer the next time down the floor to make it 50-49. Kickert's two free throws at 7:01 tied the game at 53. Then the teams traded baskets for much of the rest of the way. John Cox, the conference's scoring leader, had 23 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Dons (13-7, 4-3), who had their four-game winning streak snapped. Riley added 12 points and eight boards. USF was coming off an emotional 62-60 road win at Santa Clara on Thursday in which Alan Wiggins scored the game-winner with less than a second remaining. Saint Mary's won for the 13th time in 14 games and improved to 13-1 at home this season. The team's lone league loss came to Santa Clara on Jan. 15. The Gaels have won four straight since then. Jonathan Sanders, E.J. Rowland and Walberg shared defensive duties on Cox, who came in averaging 20.9 points. In a strange call in the first half, officials disallowed a 3-pointer by USF's Dommanic Ingerson four minutes after he made it. A review of the play determined the shot left his hand after the shot clock expired. USF still led 36-27 at halftime. USF, who reached a season best RPI of 30 earlier in the day, hosts Pepperdine Thursday and Loyola Marymount Saturday, both with 7 p.m. tipoffs. |
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