Kuhse, Tass help No. 18 Saint Mary’s beat Long Beach State

MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Tommy Kuhse had a career-high 20 points and eight assists and No. 18 Saint Mary’s bounced back three days after losing its home opener and beat Long Beach State 81-63 on Thursday night.

Matthias Tass added 22 points and five rebounds for the Gaels, who never trailed in the first matchup between the teams since 2010.

Colin Slater had 14 points for Long Beach State (1-3). The Beach have lost 25 consecutive games against ranked teams, dating to 2011.

Saint Mary’s (2-1) shook off a sluggish start and led by 22 after Kuhse’s third 3-pointer of the second half. Kuhse, who had not scored in the Gaels first two games, was 4 of 4 from beyond the arc.

The blowout comes after coach Randy Bennett’s team won their first two games by two points, including a 61-59 loss to Winthrop on Monday.

BIG PICTURE

Long Beach State: The Beach have yet to figure out who their go-to scorer will be this season. That’s both a blessing and a curse. The upside is that Long Beach State is getting points from a wide range of players. The downside is that there is no one to get the offense going, especially when the rest of the team is struggling to score.

St. Mary’s: The Gaels looked like they were still feeling the effects of the loss to Winthrop early, but settled down and eventually pulled away. Tass provided a big lift early, but it was Kuhse who set the tone with his passing and perimeter shooting. Another encouraging sign were the 18 assists that Saint Mary’s dished out.

UP NEXT

Long Beach State: The Beach will get the weekend off before hosting Fresno Pacific on Nov. 22.

St. Mary’s: Hosts Cal-Poly on Sunday. The Gaels have won six of the last seven games between the two non-conference opponents.

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