Double-Double night: The Gaels’ Luke Barrett went for 12 points and 10 rebounds. / Photo by Ayanna Williams for SMC Athletics
Gaels Dominate LMU 81–56. It’s the Third Straight Opponent Saint Mary’s Has Held to Under 60 Points
Augustas Marciulionis is on fire, scoring 23 points in his second 20+ point outing. And that stellar Saint Mary’s defense holds the line while the Gaels run away with the lead in the second half. SMC is undefeated in West Coast Conference play.
The commanding start to conference play rolled on for the Saint Mary’s Gaels (14–3, 4–0 West Coast Conference) on Tuesday night, in an 81–56 victory over the LMU Lions (9–8, 1–4 WCC) on Tuesday night at the UCU Pavilion. The Gaels never trailed, and they spent less than 90 seconds tied in an overall dominant performance. Saint Mary’s stellar defense was once again on display; they have now held each of their last three opponents under 60 points. Crunch the numbers and they’re holding WCC foes to 53.8 points per game.
Augustas Marciulionis scored 23 for his second consecutive 20+ point outing. Marciulionis also connected on a career-high four three pointers, was one of three Gaels with a team-high two assists, and was part of a pair with a team best two steals. Luke Barrett went for 12 points and 10 rebounds, good for his fifth double-double on the season and in his career. Both Paulius Murauskas (10 points, 8 rebounds) and Mitchell Saxen (7 points, 10 rebounds) both narrowly missed their own double-doubles.
Hold the Line on Defense, Open the Floodgates on Offense
The Gaels continued their trend of stalwart defensive first halves, taking a 30–24 lead into the halftime break. Saint Mary's and LMU played to a seven all stalemate through the first six minutes and change, but a 12–2 run, sparked by nine points from Mikey Lewis, gave SMC a 19–9 lead at the 9:08 mark. The Lions would shave the deficit to as close as two, but a 6–2 spurt and a Paulius Murauskas block at the buzzer ended the half with an exclamation point and a 30–24 lead.
Augustas Marciulionis led the scoring charge for the Gaels in the first half, with 10 points, going a perfect 2–2 from the field and 5–6 from the stripe. Mikey Lewis chipped in nine in just six minutes of play. Luke Barrett, Paulius Murauskas, and Mitchell Saxen combined for 19 of the Gaels’ 24 first half rebounds, and the Gaels finished +12 on the glass through the opening 20 minutes. Ten of those 24 rebounds were of the offensive variety, and the Gaels outscored the Lions 14–2 on second chance opportunities.
The offensive floodgates opened for Saint Mary’s in the second half. For the second consecutive game, the Gaels scored 50+ points in the second half. An 8–0 run by the Lithuanian duo of Augustas Marciulionis and Paulius Murauskas opened the half, extending the Gaels’ lead to 14. LMU twice managed to cut things back to within nine points, but a 15–4 run pushed SMC ahead 59–39. The lead ballooned as large as 28 points with a minute to go, before ultimately settling at 25 points, 81–56.
Augustus Marciulionis again led the Gaels in the second half, dropping 13 points on 5–8 shooting, including 3–4 from three. Marciulionis also came up with two steals, moving him into the top 10 in program history in that category. After being held to just two combined points in the first half, both Paulius Murauskas and Luke Barrett scored 10 in the second half. Barrett didn’t miss from the field (3–3) or the stripe (4–4), while ripping down a team-high four second half rebounds.
Saint Mary's turned the ball over just once in the second half, with less than three minutes left in regulation, playing near-perfect basketball for the first 17 minutes. LMU did score off of that turnover. But to put that in perspective, the Gaels forced eight second half Lion turnovers, resulting in 11 points. The Gaels were also frequent visitors to the charity stripe in the second half and made every trip count, going 15–16 on second half free throw attempts.
The Gaels have now gone four consecutive games committing fewer than 10 turnovers and shot a season best 89.3% from the free throw line.
Another 20 Piece for the Goose…and That’s Not All
For only the second time in his career, Augustas Marciulionis has scored 20+ in back-to-back contests. The last time he did this also featured a matchup with LMU last season, when he scored 25 against the Lions at home in January 2024 before adding 20 more against Santa Clara at home a week later. In both instances, Marciulionis scored 45 points in a two-game span. This time around against LMU, the Gael point guard was able to score the rock both inside and out, and set a new career high, with four made three pointers, doing so extremely efficiently on only five attempts.
Goose also added another impressive line to his resume: With two steals against the Lions, he moved to 10th all-time in program history with 120 steals, surpassing Tommy Kuhse. He now joins Gael greats David Carter ’89, Kamran Sufi ’97, and Matthew Dellavedova ’13 as the only SMC players to rank in the top 10 in program history in both assists and steals.
Taking Advantage from the Stripe. And a Near-Perfect Second Half.
Saint Mary's was gifted 28 trips to the free throw line on 22 LMU fouls, and the Gaels made the most of those opportunities, connecting on 25 of 28 free throw attempts. Leading the way was Jordan Ross, who buried all six of his attempts, while Luke Barrett (4–4), Paulius Murauskas (3–3), Harry Wessels (2–2), and Cade Bennett (2–2) were all also perfect from the charity stripe. Augustas Marciulionis and Mitchell Saxen also shot well, going a combined 8–10. The 25 made free throws and 89.3% clip were both season high marks for the Gaels.
Saint Mary’s turned the ball over just once in the second half, with only 2:55 remaining in the game. That control was a big reason as to why they were able to score 51 points in the second half en route to a 25 point victory. By not giving away possessions, the Gaels were able to hoist 32 second half shots to LMU’s 24, converting on 15 of those (47%) including 6–11 three point attempts (55%).
In the second frame, point guard Augustas Marciulionis went 5–8 from the field, including 3–4 from three without turning the ball over, while Luke Barrett and Kevin Gad combined to go a perfect 5–5 from the field, also with zero combined turnovers. Saint Mary's outscored the Lions 11–2 off of turnovers in the second half, with more than half of those points off of miscues coming in the first 10 minutes of the second frame, allowing the Gaels to run away with things.
UP NEXT: The Gaels hit the road for San Diego to face off against the Toreros on January 11. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at Jenny Craig Pavilion.
