Gaels Drop Heartbreaker to Dons for First Loss of 2025

The City by the Bay hosted a marquee matchup on Thursday night, with the Saint Mary's Gaels (20–4, 10–1 West Coast Conference) bringing their 15-game consecutive road winning streak into War Memorial at the Sobrato Center to take on the San Francisco Dons (19–6, 9–3 WCC), unbeaten in their last 14 at home. The game featured the top two teams in the WCC, and it lived up to the billing, coming down to the final shot. But when the buzzer sounded, it was the Dons who defended home court, eking out the narrow 65–64 victory. The Gaels remain in first place in the WCC despite the loss, with the Dons remaining hot on their tails in second, now just 1.5 games back. 

For the fifth time this season, for the Gaels Augustas Marciulionis met or surpassed the 20 point mark. Thursday night he scored an even 20 while dishing out seven assists to just one turnover, and he came up with four steals in a full 40 minutes of action. Mitchell Saxen scored 14 and ripped down 11 rebounds for his 23rd career double-double and his eighth this season. Paulius Murauskas rounded out the group of double-digit scorers for the Gaels, with 12 points, all in the second half. The Gaels had a season low five turnovers, but shot a season-low 13% from three in the loss.

Saint Mary’s is currently ranked No. 23 in the country in the USA Today Coaches poll, and in the top 25 for the 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.

Punch and Counterpunch

The Gaels came out of the gates hot, opening things up with a 17–9 lead through the first 7:30, with Augustus Marciulionis responsible for nine of those points. But the Dons were able to throw a counterpunch of their own coming out of the second media timeout, going on an 11–2 run to knot things up at 20. USF eventually took their first lead at 28–26 with 3:30 to go in the opening frame. The Gaels stole a bit of momentum heading back into the locker room, closing the half out on an 8–1 run to take a 34–29 lead into the halftime break. 

Marciulionis was the unsung hero for the Gaels in the first half, scoring half of the Gaels 34 points, with three assists, four steals, and no turnovers. Jordan Ross chipped in six, while Mitchell Saxen added five and six rebounds. The Gaels dominated the Dons in the paint in the first half to the tune of 26–12, and they won the turnover battle 7–3; however, were only able to turn those seven Don turnovers into two points.

Saint Mary's kept things going in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, outscoring the Dons 18–12 to extend their lead to 52–41. From that point, however, the Dons put the defensive intensity on, outscoring the Gaels 24–12 down the stretch. A 14–2 run gave the Dons their first lead of the second half, and they would not relinquish it. 

Down four with 21 seconds remaining, the Gaels made things interesting. Paulius Murauskas buried a three to put the score at 65–64, with SMC down by one. The Gaels fouled Carlton Linguard, who missed both free throws. Jordan Ross ripped down the board and kicked it into high gear up the court. Ross connected with an open Mikey Lewis who put up a three. But Lewis had to rush his shot with time expiring, and the shot missed short, leaving the Dons with the win. 

After picking up three fouls in the first half and being unable to fire off a shot, Paulius Murauskas added 12 in the second half to lead the Gaels. Mitchell Saxen didn't miss from the field in the second half, scoring nine and ripping down five boards. Augustas Marciulionis had a quiet scoring second half, but he did add another four assists to just one turnover. 

Some Positive Numbers

Despite the Gaels’ loss, they turned the ball over a season low five times. This is even more impressive when considering the fact that the Dons lead the WCC in turnovers forced per game. Last time against the Gaels, the Dons forced seven turnovers. 

Augustas Marciulionis entered the record book in games played for his career, appearing in his 127th. That ties him with Ian O'Leary and Stephen Holt for the 13th most in program history. Among active Gaels, Marciulionis trails only Mitchell Saxen—who has appeared in 145. With four steals on Thursday night, Marciulionis also leapfrogged Jordan Ford and Eric Newman for career steals ranks. He’s now eighth all-time for the Gaels, with 128. Mitchell Saxen also climbed the scoring ranks, surpassing former teammate Logan Johnson; Saxen is now No. 24 in program history, with 1,216 points.

UP NEXT: The Gaels have a quick turnaround, heading to Corvallis to take on Oregon State on Saturday, February 8. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN2.