Gaels Defeat Pepperdine to Clinch First Outright Regular Season Conference Title Since 2012

The Gaels (24–6, 15-0 West Coast Conference) are alone at the top of the West Coast Conference, and with the 83–57 victory over Pepperdine (12–19, 5–11 WCC) on February 29 in Malibu, Saint Mary’s guaranteed that this is where they will end the regular season. For the first time in over a decade, the Gaels locked up the WCC Regular Season crown outright, taking care of business for their 16th consecutive victory.

Saint Mary’s finishes conference play with a perfect road record. And SMC adds to what was already the longest winning streak in the nation, now with 16 victories in a row. 

Pepperdine hung tough with the Gaels for the first 11 minutes, keeping Saint Mary’s within two possessions in that time. The flood gates opened for the Gaels at the 8:38 mark of the frame, when Mason Forbes buried a layup to spark a 25–8 run to close out the half. At the first half break, Saint Mary's led 51–28. 

The Gaels shot at an eye-popping 65% clip for the half, due in big part to the fact that many of their shots came from within 10 feet of the basket: Saint Mary's scored 28 of their 51 first half points in the paint. Augustas Marciulionis was the driving force behind the Gaels offensive explosion, with 13 points and seven assists, scoring or assisting on more than half of the Saint Mary's made field goals. Luke Barrett added 10 off the bench and a team-high five rebounds, while Mason Forbes and Chris Howell each chipped in nine, a new career-high for Howell. 

The Gaels pumped the brakes a bit in the second half, maintaining a comfortable lead that never dropped below 14 points. Alex Ducas had nine second half points and six second half rebounds; the Gaels fifth-year standout made yet another huge impact on the court in Malibu, something SMC fans have become quite accustomed to. After a quiet first half, Mitchell Saxen added eight points on 4–5 shooting in the second frame. The Gaels once again shot better than 50% in the second half, and extended their lead to as large as 27, eventually winning by 26. 

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Teamwork by the Numbers

Augustas Marciulionis notched his second double-double in as many games, with a team high 17 points and 11 assists, while also reeling in six rebounds. Luke Barrett dropped 14 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Alex Ducas (12), Mason Forbes (11), and Mitchell Saxen all reached double figures, while Chris Howell scored a career-best nine.

Back to Back Team Edition

For only the second time in program history, the Gaels have won at least a share of the conference regular season title in back to back campaigns. The only other time the Gaels achieved this feat was in the 2011 and 2012 seasons. In even more deja vu fashion, the Gaels, who won the conference regular season title outright with the win over Pepperdine, won their last outright regular season conference title in 2012.

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Back to Back Goose Edition

Augustas Marciulionis put up his second consecutive double-double, going for 17 points and 11 assists, both team highs, against Pepperdine. Marciulionis shot 6–12 from the field and tied his career high in assists, set just five days earlier against San Diego. The junior out of Vilnius, Lithuania—whose first name earned him the nickname the Goose, as well as Gael student fans who wave a goose cutout decked out in the red, green, and yellow of the Lithuanian flag—has been the driving force behind the Gaels’ 15–0 conference domination. He has averaged 14 points and 7 assists per contest in WCC play with a 3.5 assist to turnover ratio.

Road Sweet Road

With Thursday night’s victory, the Gaels completed their first ever perfect road season in program history. Winners of all nine of their road contests, the Gaels picked up signature wins in hostile territory over Colorado State, San Francisco, and Gonzaga. Their previous best road seasons came in 2017–18, 2016–17, and 1988–89, in each of which they went 10–1. Also in each of those seasons, the Gaels earned at least a share of the WCC Regular Season Title.

Finishing with Gonzaga, Honoring Seniors

The Gaels’ final regular season contest will be against Gonzaga at home. Saint Mary’s has already clinched the conference title. Along with having the longest winning streak in the country, the Gaels are also the only team undefeated in conference play. With a win Saturday, they could carry that stellar distinction into the end of the whole season—and earn the Gaels their first ever undefeated WCC season.

Prior to tip off against Gonzaga, the Gaels will honor their three senior student-athletes: Mitchell Saxen, Mason Forbes, and Alex Ducas. Saxen has been part of the program for four years, taking on the starting center duties over the last two seasons and tallying 13 career double-doubles. His 110 career blocked shots ranks sixth in program history. 

Mason Forbes joined the Gaels last season after a four year stretch at Harvard. After sitting out last season, Forbes has played a vital role in the 2023–24 team's success, appearing in 29 of 30 games this year and shooting an incredible 71.1% from the field. 

Last, but certainly not least, fifth-year senior Alex Ducas has been a Saint Mary's staple. He is on pace to at least tie Tommy Kuhse's games played record (149 games), and Ducas ranks second in three pointers made and attempted, trailing only fellow Aussie Gael legend Matthew Dellavedova. Ducas has scored 1,314 points (and counting) and ranks 16th in program history. 

Senior team manager Taj Shokar will also be honored as part of the Senior Night festivities.

UP NEXT: The Gaels host Gonzaga on Saturday, March 2 in UCU Pavilion. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. 

READ MORE: This story as it appears at SMCGaels.com

No. 17 Gaels Lock up a Share of the WCC Regular Season Title with Big Win over San Diego

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Story updated March 1, 2024 at 11 a.m. Pacific.