Ford, Fitts pace Saint Mary’s past California 89-77

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — Jordan Ford scored 32 points, including 13 straight for Saint Mary’s late in the second half, and the Gaels beat California 89-77 on Saturday night.

Malik Fitts had a season-high 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting and matched his career high with five 3-pointers for Saint Mary’s (10-2). Dan Fotu added seven points and nine rebounds.

Six days after falling to No. 14 Dayton to snap an eight-game winning streak, Saint Mary’s pulled away in the first half behind Fitts’ hot hand then held on late behind Ford after California closed a 19-point deficit to as little as eight.

Andre Kelly had a career-high 26 points for the Golden Bear (6-5). Matt Bradley added 14 points and Grant Anticevich scored 11.

California’s loss ended its eight-game home winning streak dating to last season.

It’s also the third consecutive year that the Golden Bears have lost to the Gaels. The two San Francisco Bay Area schools are within 14 miles of each other.

Fitts made his first five 3-pointers and had 21 points in the first 20 minutes as the Gaels pulled away and led by 17 before halftime. The 21 points by Fitts matched his total in the loss to Dayton.

Saint Mary’s made five consecutive 3s during one stretch in the first half, three by Fitts and two from Alex Ducas.

BIG PICTURE

Saint Mary’s: The Gaels have responded to both of their losses this season with blowout wins, the type of resiliency that coach Randy Bennett wants from his team. Fitts is helping alleviate some of the pressure off Ford’s shoulders, and his early scoring helped Saint Mary’s set the tone. The Gaels will need to get more scoring from the rest of the team once they get into conference play but for now, the Fitts-Ford tandem is doing pretty well.

California: The Bears didn’t get many calls to fall their way and it led to coach Mark Fox being whistled for a technical foul early in the second half. Kelly’s scoring was big and kept California within striking distance in the second half. That was big on a night when leading scorer Matt Bradley had an off night shooting.

UP NEXT

Saint Mary’s: The Gaels play host to Arizona State on Wednesday.

California: Plays against Boston College in the Al Attles Classic in San Francisco on Dec. 21.

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