Freshman phenom: The Gaels’ Mikey Lewis scored a career-high 18 points. / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
Undefeated Gaels Outmuscle Akron 87–68
Mikey Lewis Racks up career-high 18 points and Paulius Murauskas earns his third double-double in as many outings with the Gaels. Saint Mary’s Men’s Basketball are now 3–0.
Saint Mary's (3–0) imposed their will against Akron (1–2) on Tuesday evening to secure an 87–68 victory. The Zips are the first team that the Gaels have faced who earned a berth to last year's NCAA Tournament, but the Gaels handled the defending Mid-American Conference Tournament Champions with ease, never trailing in the contest.
Credit that in part to 18 points from freshman Mikey Lewis, 17 points and a double-double from Paulius Murauskas—his third in as many games—and a double-double from last year’s West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year Mitchell Saxen. The Gaels were absolutely fierce on rebounding and scoring in the paint.
Take the Lead and Don’t Let Go
Saint Mary's never trailed in the first half, though Akron managed to keep things relatively close—with the Zips tying things up 6–6 briefly. But a 13–2 run sparked by a trio of triples from freshman phenom Mikey Lewis pushed the SMC lead out to double-digits for the first time at 19-8.
The Zips kept their nose to the grindstone, however, and over the next six minutes, were able to whittle the deficit down to one. A 10–3 Gaels run closed the half, though, and Saint Mary's went into the break leading 38–30. For Lewis, the half was a new career-high 15 points, shooting 5-9 from the field, while burying 3–4 three point attempts. Mitchell Saxen's seven points and eight rebounds, and Paulius Muraskas' six points and 10 boards, helped the Gaels to an incredible +18 margin on the glass and +18 margin for points in the paint.
Akron opened up the second half with a three to cut the deficit to five points, but the Gaels pushed their lead back to double digits thanks to a 10–0 run that featured eight Harry Wessels points. Wessels was the story of the second half for the Gaels, as he totaled 12 points on 6–7 shooting in just nine minutes of play. Paulius Murauskas chipped in 11 more with five rebounds and five assists, while Augustas Marciulionis went for nine points and six assists with no turnovers in the second stanza. Saint Mary's shot a blistering 60.6% from the field in the second half, and had assists on 15 of their 20 baskets.
Double Figures and Triple Double-Doubles
The Gaels had five scorers in double figures, led by Mikey Lewis, who scored 18 points, including a 4-6 three point shooting clip. Paulius Murauskas added 17 points and 15 rebounds for his third double-double of the year. It was a big day for the Gaels’ centers: Mitchell Saxen logged his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Harry Wessels chipped in 12 points and six boards off the bench.
Rounding out the group of double-digit scorers was Augustas Marciulionis, who scored 11, but added a career-high tying 11 assists and no turnovers. Saint Mary's recorded three double-doubles in a single game for the first time since 2011. The Gaels seemed to hold a massive margin in every “bruiser stat,” including a +29 rebounding margin, a +22 margin in second chance scoring, and a +42 margin on points in the paint.
The last time three Gaels racked up double-doubles in one game featured Rob Jones, Matthew Dellavedova, and Kenton Walker in a contest against Weber State.
Big Night for the Goose and the Gaels’ Big Men
Augustas Marciulionis entered this evening's game, averaging 7.5 assists per contest and holding an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5.0. Those numbers ranked third and second in the conference respectively; look for those rankings to climb after Tuesday’s contest. He now averages 8.7 assists per game and holds an astonishing assist-to-turnover of 8.7. His assist per-game mark should jump him into the top 15 in the NCAA, while the assist-to-turnover ratio will likely rank in the top 20.
Saint Mary's knew that they would have a size advantage in this match, with Akron's tallest player standing at 6’8”—versus the Saint Mary’s trio of Mitchell Saxen at 6’10”, Harry Wessels at 7’1”, and Paulius Murauskas at 6’8”. The three Gaels combined for 40 points and 32 rebounds, helping the Gaels to massive advantage on the glass, in second chance scoring and in points in the paint. Ten of Saxen's 11 points came in the paint, with one coming at the free throw line, as did all 12 of Wessel's points. Murauskas led in paint points, with 14 of his 17 coming from within the key. The trio was also excellent on the offensive glass, generating multiple second-chance opportunities and scores. Murauskas had three o-boards that resulted in seven second-chance points, Saxen had six that resulted in five second-chance points, and Harry Wessels had four that resulted in five second-chance points.
UP NEXT: The Gaels have their first matchup with a "Power-Four" opponent on Sunday, November 17, as they head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for a neutral site clash with Nebraska. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. Central / 10 a.m. Pacific.
