A little of everything: Augustus Marciulionis scored 15 points, had seven rebounds, and five assists. / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
Gaels Shred the Waves 74–59, Move onto Their Fourth Straight West Coast Conference Title Game
Paulius Murauskas and Augustas Marciulionis lead the way with 15 points each. Saint Mary’s dominates in rebounding—showing why they’re No. 1 in the country in rebounding margin. And the USA Today Coaches Poll puts SMC at No. 15 in the nation.
The Saint Mary’s Gaels (28–4) moved one step closer to their second consecutive Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Championship Title with a 74–59 victory in Monday night’s semifinal matchup with the Pepperdine Waves (13–22). The Waves rolled into the matchup in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas with the momentum of three wins in three nights, making them the first nine seed to play in a WCC Semifinal since LMU in 2013. And Pepperdine hung tight with Saint Mary’s for the first half, but a combination of stellar defense and ferocious rebounding at the start of the second helped the Gaels pull away.
For the fourth year in a row—and the fifth time in the last six years—Saint Mary's now heads to the WCC Title game. The Gaels will now attempt to win back-to-back WCC tournament titles for the second consecutive year. Their opponent on Tuesday evening will be Gonzaga—the team that they have faced off with in the title game in each of the past four years—after the Zags defeated San Francisco in the semifinals later Monday night. The Gaels defeated Gonzaga at the Kennel in Spokane to secure the WCC Regular Season Title this year.
Leading scoring for the Gaels on Monday night were the Saint Mary’s Lithuanian duo of Paulius Murauskas and Augustas Marciulionis. Murauskas made his WCC Tournament debut with a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, good for his 13th of the year. He missed one perimeter jumper, but he was a perfect 5–5 inside the arc, while also knocking down four free throws.
Marciulionis did a bit of everything for the Gaels, also scoring 15, while adding a season-high tying seven rebounds five assists, as well as two steals, while not turning the ball over once. It was the fourth time this season that he has logged at least five assists and no turnovers in a game. Rounding out the group of double digit scorers was Luke Barrett. The fifth-year senior scored 13 for his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring outing against the Waves. The Gaels scored 46 of their 74 points in the paint and outrebounded the Waves by 23 for the game, including a +8 offensive rebounding margin, leading to a +12 second chance scoring advantage.
End of the Waves’ Cinderella Story
The Gaels jumped out to an early 4–0 lead, but Pepperdine responded with a 12–4 run of their own. The lead for the Waves got as big as five points at 18–13, following a pair of Moe Odum threes. But Saint Mary's countered with a 17–3 run, taking a lead that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. The Gael lead ballooned to as big as 13 in the first half before settling at 10 going into the break, 39–29.
After combining for 50 of the Gaels’ 74 points nine days ago against Oregon State in the regular season finale, the senior trio of Augustas Marciulionis, Luke Barrett, and Mitchell Saxen once again led the offensive front for the Gaels in the first half. They each recorded nine points, accounting for 27 of the Gaels’ 39. Barrett added a team-high seven first-half rebounds, while Saxen had a pair of first-half rejections. In signature Gael form, Saint Mary's finished +13 on the glass, +10 in the paint, and +7 in second-chance scoring while limiting themselves to just two first-half turnovers.
Pepperdine got back within single digits in the first 2:10 of the second half, but a quick 7–0 run, with five coming from Paulius Murauskas, put the Gaels well on the front foot for the remainder of the contest. In total, the Gaels outscored the Waves 29–11 over the first dozen or so minutes of the second frame, to extend their lead all the way out to 28 before Head Coach Randy Bennett began to get some of his key players off the court and rested for Tuesday’s title game. As the clock wound down, the Gaels salted away the victory, with the final tally sitting at 74–59.
Paulius Murauskas came to life in the second half, with 10 points and six rebounds, not missing from the field. Countryman Augustas Marciulionis filled up the stat sheet with six points, four boards, and four assists with no turnovers in the second half. The Gaels continued to dominate on the boards, outrebounding Pepperdine by 10.
SUB: Rebounds = Wins
Coming into the WCC Semifinals, the Gaels ranked No. 1 in the country with a +10.2 rebound margin. Against the Waves on Monday, the Gaels more than doubled that, with the rebound tally finishing at 45–22. It was just the sixth time this season that the Gaels have finished at least +20 on the glass.
Paulius Murauskas led the way with 10 boards; a sophomore finishing his first season with the Gaels, he continues to lead the conference in rebounding. Luke Barrett and Mitchell Saxen each ripped down eight, while Augustas Marciulionis tied his season-high seven. The Gaels have now outrebounded 25 of 32 opponents this season, and are 24–1 when accomplishing that feat.
Luke Barrett: The Wave Shredder
Over his past four matchups with Pepperdine dating back to last season, Luke Barrett has dominated to the tune of 14.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.5% (24–39) from the field. Over the last three, Barrett has also drawn the assignment of one of the conference's best scorers, Pepperdine’s Stefan Todorovic, and has done an incredible job against him, limiting the 18.5 points per game scorer to just 12 points per game against SMC, and holding him to 31.8% on field goals.
No. 15 in the Country and a Bevy of Awards
Coming into Monday night’s matchup, in the , Saint Mary’s climbed to . The Gaels also earned a spot in the , ranking No. 19 in the nation.
Crunch the stats, and Saint Mary’s is ranked No. 19 in the country in NCAA NET rankings. Along with winning percentage, the NET rankings take into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. For the NCAA, it’s both a results-driven and predictive metric.
The Gaels were the No. 1 seed in the Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Tournament, having won the WCC Regular Season Title by a breadth of three games. In WCC top individual awards, the Gaels nearly made a sweep, with Augustas Marciulionis winning Player of the Year, Mitchell Saxen winning Defensive Player of the Year, Paulius Murauskas named Newcomer of the Year, Mikey Lewis earning honors as Sixth Man of the Year, and Randy Bennett once again named Coach of the Year.
UP NEXT: Saint Mary’s plays Gonzaga for the WCC Tournament Championship on Tuesday, March 11. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. in the Orleans Arena. Can't make it to Las Vegas? Tune in live on ESPN. The Saint Mary’s campus hosts a watch party at the 1928 Pub and Dryden Hall.
