Double-Double night: Paulius Maurauskas had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and he shot 60% from the field. / Katerina Benedikt for SMC Athletics
Gaels Defeat Pilots 79–66, Move Within One Game of Clinching Season Title
Paulius Marauskas leads Saint Mary’s with 20 points, with four Gaels in double figures. With one more victory, SMC will clinch at least a share of the West Coast Conference title—for the third straight season.
Saint Mary's (24–4, 14–1 in the West Coast Conference) took care of business on Wednesday night at the UCU Pavilion, defeating the Portland Pilots (10–18, 5–10 in the WCC), by a convincing score of 79–66. The Pilots hung tight with the Gaels for most of the first half, but a strong three point shooting surge helped propel the Gaels to a double digit lead early in the second half that they would not relinquish. The Gaels came into the game as No. 1 in the WCC, and they need just one more win to secure at least a share of the 2025 WCC Regular Season Title. Two more victories mean SMC wins the title outright.
Paulius Murauskas notched his second double-double in as many games, and his 11th of the season, going for 20 points and 11 rebounds, while shooting 60% from the field and 40% from three. Augustas Marciulionis finished just one assist shy of joining Murauskas in double-double land, going for 16 points and nine assists—to just one total turnover. Off the bench, the Gaels got big production from Mikey Lewis (12 points, 4–6 from three) and Harry Wessels (11 points, 4–5 from the field, five rebounds). The Gaels outrebounded Portland 41–27 and finished +10 on the offensive glass, leading to a 14–3 second chance scoring discrepancy in favor of the Gaels.
Maruaskas Breaks the Ice
The Gaels shook off a slow shooting start to build out an eight point lead going into the break. Paulius Murauskas was the man responsible for getting Saint Mary’s out of the early game cold spell, scoring SMC’s first eight points and allowing them to keep pace with the Pilots. Eventually, the rest of the Gaels followed suit, closing the half on a 31–20 run.
Murauskas scored 14 points and eight rebounds to lead the Gaels throughout the half. Augustas Marciulionis chipped in six with a team-high four assists with no turnovers. The Gaels finished off +12 on the glass in the first half, outscoring Portland 8–0 in second chance points.
The Pilots and Gaels matched each other blow for blow in the first few minutes of the second half, keeping the deficit at eight, until Mitchell Saxen knocked down a pair of free throws to push the Gaels ahead 43–33. After that, Saint Mary's would never see their lead shrink below double-digits, opening it out to as large as 20 with less than three minutes to go. The Pilots managed to cut things down to a 13-point deficit—and when the final horn sounded, that was the margin of victory for the Gaels.
Augustas Marciulionis was the only Gael to reach double figures in the second half, scoring 10 points while dishing out five more assists. Harry Wessels scored eight, while Paulius Murauskas and Mitchell Saxen each went for six points and three rebounds. After shooting at just 39.5% for the first half, the Gaels sharpened their offensive production in the second half—to the tune of 56.7% from the field and 50% from three.
Talk About a Two Game Stretch…
A little less than a month ago, Paulius Murauskas put together a two game stretch against San Francisco and Washington State that saw him average 24.5 points per game and 8.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 65.5% from the field, earning him Lute Olson National Player of the Week honors. While that pair of performances was indeed impressive, Murauskas has shined even brighter over his two most recent games for the Gaels. In wins over Washington State on Saturday, and Portland on Wednesday, Murauskas has averaged 25 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per contest, shooting 61.8% from the field. He has logged back-to-back double-doubles for the first time since the first two games of conference play, and now has 11 for the season. He is the first Gael since Jock Landale (2017–18) to have double digit double-doubles in a single season.
More Milestones for the Gaels
Wednesday saw some major career marks for the Gaels. For Mitchell Saxen, the game marked his 149th appearance as a Gael, tying him with former teammate Tommy Kuhse for second most games played. His next game will tie him with another former teammate, Alex Ducas, for most games ever played in an SMC uniform. Saxen also climbed into the top 20 all-time in program scoring: He’s at 1,253 career points, good for 19th. The big man from Seattle also recorded his 150th block as a Gael. He needs three more rejections to move into the top three in program history.
Augustas Marciulionis hit both a participation and scoring milestone. He played his 131st game as a Gael, moving him into the top 10 all-time, and moved into the top 30 all-time in scoring, with 1,132 points.
Also joining in on the fun were Jordan Ross, who notched his 100th assist as a Gael, and Luke Barrett, who scored his 200th career basket. Finishing out the group, Harry Wessels, after shooting 4–5 from the field, once again leapfrogged fellow Aussie Jock Landale for the program field goal percentage lead. Wessels is now shooting at 62.7% for his career, just a tick over Landale's career 62.5%. Wessels continues to dazzle with his finishing ability around the rim.
Eyes on the Title
Following Saint Mary’s victory over Portland, paired with Gonzaga's win on Wednesday over Washington State, the Gaels continue to hold a two game lead on the Zags in the WCC. Three teams still have the possibility to win at least a share of the WCC regular season crown: Along with Saint Mary's—which holds the inside track—and Gonzaga, San Francisco is still in the running. If the Gaels defeat Gonzaga at the Kennel on February 22, Saint Mary's will be crowned outright WCC Champion—for the second season in a row.
The Gaels have never won WCC regular season titles outright in back-to-back years. Nor have they won a share of the WCC title in three straight seasons. Both of these distinctions are now within reach.
A loss in Spokane on Saturday would not end the Gaels’ chances at winning the outright conference title. They would still hold a one game lead, and they would need to win both of their final two games—at LMU on February 27 and at home vs. Oregon State on March 1—to secure the outright conference title. Any win from here on out guarantees the Gaels a share of the regular season WCC Title. The Gaels have put in the work throughout conference play and now truly control their own destiny down the home stretch.
On the heels of last weekend's games, the Gaels found themselves ranked No. 24 nationally in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Midweek also found Saint Mary's at No. 21 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.
As WCC Sports notes, when Saint Mary’s faces Gonzaga on Saturday, it pits one of the nation’s top defenses against one of the country’s top offenses. In terms of rankings, the Gaels have the No. 4 defense in the country—only allowing 60.5 points per game—and No. 1 in conference games—56.6 points per game. “In addition to the stellar defense, Saint Mary's remains potent on the boards, as well,” reminds one recent WCC write-up. That includes work by the top two rebounders in the WCC: Paulius Murauskas, who leads the league at 8.2 rebounds per game, and Mitchell Saxen, who is right behind him at 7.9 rebounds per game.
UP NEXT: The best rivalry in West Coast basketball is next up for the Gaels, as they head to Spokane to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a game that could decide the outright WCC Regular Season Champs. Tip off is set for 5 p.m. at the McCarthey Athletic Center, better known as the Kennel. Can't make it to Spokane? Watch the game live on ESPN2.
