“Nick is a three-year starter and it’s a luxury as a coach to have a player like this at this level. He is a leader and has all of the intangibles that make him a special player,” said St. Mary’s coach Kevin Moran. “After he scored his 1000th point he turned around and said, "Let's take of business and see if we can finish.”
The Spartans matched Galiolo’s intensity throughout the second half and exploded with 28 third-quarter points after they struggled to put up 7 and 11 points in the first and second quarters respectively.
“The match was clearly a game of two halves. We took too many 3-pointers and we didn’t get any offensive rebounds and we didn’t execute offensively in the first half,” said Moran. “I expected them to go out in the second half with more intensity and they took it upon themselves and convinced each other to start compete at a high level.”
The Spartan’s carried their momentum into the fourth quarter where they outscored the Cougars (10-2, 6-2), 32-17.
“We got the ball moving and a lot of our points came off transition,” said Moran. “Our defensive pressure got better. We stayed in man-to-man defense, and we were more aggressive and we rotated and defended them much better and that created a lot of our offense and it helped us push the ball up and get better looks.”
Senior captain and guard Devin Thompson finished with 15 points and sophomore point guard Randolf Thurman collected 9 points, 9 assists, and 7 steals.
“The kids knocked down the shots and they ran the show tonight and they picked up the momentum,” said Moran. “I have been coaching at St. Mary’s for eight years and I have never scored 60 in a half and all things considering it’s probably one of the best games we have played in the long time.”
