A big night all around: Mikey Lewis led scoring for the Gaels with 18 points, as Saint Mary’s eclipsed the century mark. For two weeks in a row, and for the third time this season, he has been named West Coast Conference Freshman of the Week. / Photo by Tom Christensen for USD Athletics
Gaels Put up Best Offensive Performance Yet this Season, Down Toreros 103–56
Mikey Lewis leads scoring with 18 points, with five Gaels in double figures. Saint Mary’s hits season highs in points, three-pointers, and assists, while keeping turnovers to a season low. SMC is now 5–0 in West Coast Conference play.
The Saint Mary's Gaels (15–3, 5–0 West Coast Conference) put together a dominant 40 minutes of action against the San Diego Toreros (4–14, 1–4 WCC) on Saturday night, crossing the century mark for the first time this season with a 103–58 victory. The Gaels put up 62 points in the second half—compared to San Diego's 56 for the game—one of many eye popping stats in this game. While defense has been the Gaels’ calling card all season and throughout Coach Randy Bennett's tenure, this game showed what an offensive powerhouse the Gaels can unleash.
Mikey Lewis led the Gaels with 18 points on 7–8 shooting (4–5 from three). Joining him in double figures were Mitchell Saxen (15 points, 12 rebounds, and a pair of blocks and steals), Jordan Ross (12 points and five assists), Augustas Marciulionis (11 points and four assists), and Luke Barrett (10 points). Paulius Murauskas only went for nine points but did a bit of everything, with 10 rebounds, five assists, one block, and two steals. As a team, the Gaels had season highs in points, field goals made, threes made, and assists, while tying a season low in turnovers with only six. Saint Mary’s pounded the Toreros in nearly every offensive statistical category, including points off of turnovers (+17), points in the paint (+14), second chance points (+14), fast break points (+8), and bench scoring (+18).
Double Digits for the Distance
Jordan Ross got the Gaels going with a three in their second possession of the game, and Saint Mary's never looked back. The game stayed within single digits for the first 11 minutes and change. Then Augustas Marciulionis buried a triple with 8:47 to go in the half to put the Gaels up 23–13—and from there on out, Saint Mary’s held a double-digit lead. The Gaels kept the pedal to the metal to extend the lead out to 17 points at the half, 41–24. Six of the eight Gaels who touched the floor in the first half scored, with five of them scoring at least six points.
Captains Augustas Marciulionis and Mitchell Saxen led the charge with nine points each, and Marciulionis added to that with four assists, Saxen with six boards. Paulius Murauskas filled up the stat sheet with four points, six rebounds, and two steals in the first half, while Marciulionis and Luke Barrett didn't leave the floor in the opening stanza.
The Gaels continued to pile it on in the second half, with every active player touching the floor and contributing to the 47-point victory. Mikey Lewis was perfect in the second half, going 4–4 from the field and 3–3 from three-point range. Also not missing from the field in the second half were Paulius Murauskas, Harry Wessels, and Kevin Gad. Mitchell Saxen scored six points while ripping down six offensive boards, while Murauskas and Jordan Ross each dished out three second half assists with no turnovers.
The Outstanding Offense
The Gaels eclipsed the century mark for the first time since last February, when they scored 103 points against Pepperdine. All 12 active Gaels touched the floor, with 11 scoring—including five in double figures. The Gaels set season highs in field goals made (37), field goal percentage (52.9%), three pointers made (15), three point percentage (51.7%,), assists (26) and assist-to-turnover ratio (4.33).
There were individual career-highs aplenty in this one. Mikey Lewis set career marks in field goal percentage (87.5%) and three point percentage (80%) for the game. Harry Wessels went a perfect 5–5 from the charity stripe for the first time in his career, moving him to an impressive 82.8% from the line on the season. With a 2–2 day from the field, Wessels also surpassed Jock Landale for best career field goal percentage in program history at 62.7%. (This record will stay in flux until Wessels graduates.)
Jordan Ross made four threes for the second time in his career in a single game, and played his second game ever with five or more assists and no turnovers; he continues to lead the Gaels in assist to turnover ratio at 3.11. After being limited to just three points in his first 12 games, Joshua Dent went for eight off the bench on 3–5 shooting and 2–3 from three in just eight minutes of play. Ashton Hardaway tied his career high and set a new Gael career high with three assists.
The Dominant Defense
For the fourth consecutive game, the Gaels held their opponent below 60 points. San Diego could only muster 56 points for the game, six fewer than the Gaels’ offensive output in the second half alone. Saint Mary's played incredibly clean defense all night, committing just 10 fouls and allowing the Toreros to shoot just three free throws all evening.
Saint Mary’s forced 15 turnovers by San Diego, resulting in 17 points off turnovers and contributing to the Gaels’ 16 fast break points. Joshua Dent led the team with a career-high three steals, while Mitchell Saxen and Paulius Murauskas each had two. Defensive rebounding was also key for the Gaels, who limited the Toreros to just seven second chance points, with Murauskas once again being the biggest contributor with nine d-boards. The Gaels had as many defensive rebounds (21) as the Toreros had total boards. Shot blocking was also on display, with the Gaels rejecting four shots, including two each from Saxen and Ashton Hardaway, a career-high for the latter. WCC foes have now been limited to just 54.2 points per game against the Gaels.
“As a team, our chemistry has been coming along,” said guard Mikey Lewis after the game. “We're really gelling, and it's shown a lot lately.”
For Lewis, his recent performance once again earned him . That’s the second week in a row he has earned that honor—and the third time in the 2024–25 season.
UP NEXT: The Gaels head to Pepperdine to take on the Waves on January 18. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. at the Firestone Fieldhouse.
Story updated January 13 at 4 p.m. to note that Mikey Lewis is once again WCC Freshman of the Week.
