On to the NCAA Tournament: West Coast Conference Player of the Year Augustus Marciulionis says the goal for the Gaels is to “play as best as we can for as long as we can.” / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
Kroner’s Corner: Saint Mary’s Bouncing Back
March Madness is here. The Gaels are a No. 7 seed and headed to Cleveland to face 10th-seeded Vanderbilt on March 21. And they know what they need to do.
Disappointed but not discouraged, the Saint Mary's Gaels returned from Las Vegas to the East Bay last Wednesday morning, intent on using the days before Selection Sunday as time to improve ahead of their NCAA Tournament opener on March 21. The Gaels (28–5) lost 58–51 to Gonzaga in an odd West Coast Conference Tournament final at the Orleans Arena on Tuesday night. SMC went 0-for-16 from three-point range; according to ESPN Research, it was the first time in Randy Bennett’s 24 seasons as head coach that the Gaels failed to connect on a trey.
The Zags were only marginally better from beyond the arc, shooting 1-for-15. The game turned on turnovers. The Gaels committed 18; they had averaged 9.5 per game before Tuesday. Gonzaga converted those 18 turnovers into 20 points, and the Zags had just four giveaways, which resulted in three SMC points.
“We've got to flush this one fast, get it out of our system,” center Mitchell Saxen said. “Take it personal that we lost it like this, that we did in this manner playing that bad offensively, and know we've got to get better in those areas.”
Saxen poured in a game-high 20 points, his highest total of the season. Forward Luke Barrett and backup center Harry Wessels each had a game-high nine rebounds as the Gaels owned a 43–28 edge on the glass.
“We guarded pretty well, we rebounded pretty well again, but we can't win when we play that bad offensively,” Barrett said. “Just clean that up, get hungry, and stay on our front foot offensively.”
Gearing up for March Madness
Guard Augustas Marciulionis and Barrett both noted that though the Gaels won the conference tournament title last season by beating Gonzaga 69–60, they fell 75-66 to Grand Canyon in their NCAA Tournament opener. Barrett said Tuesday night's loss “hurts, but what's fueled us for the last year is what we left on the table in March last year.” He said he has thought about the loss to the Lopes every day for the past year.
Ending last season that way “didn't really sit well with us,” Marciulionis said. “It didn't feel like we finished the season well. We don't know how much time we have (left) as this group, so we're just going to give it all we've got in practices in preparing for whoever is coming up.”
Marciulionis had 12 points and a game-high eight assists Tuesday. He, Barrett and Saxen have played in a combined 400 games.
“You can't underestimate how important experience is,” Bennett said. “The guys who showed up and played well for us were our three seniors…They're pretty dependable. They're a special group…I just told our guys in the locker room: I can count on those three guys every game—every day—to bring it. And we need to move some other guys (in) that direction…so that we can be good in the future.”
The Gaels' short-term future was determined Sunday when the NCAA Tournament field of 68 was announced: Saint Mary’s, a No. 7 seed in the tournament, takes on Vanderbilt, a No. 10 seed, in Cleveland on March 21.
“Our biggest goals, our most important games, are still to come,” Luke Barrett said.
Said Marciulionis: “We'll try to still accomplish our goals and play as best as we can for as long as we can.”
Relishing the rivalry
The Gaels won the regular season conference title, in large part because they beat Gonzaga both in Moraga (62–58) and in Spokane (75–67). Over the past two decades, the Saint Mary's-Gonzaga rivalry has become among the best—if not the best—on the West Coast.
The Zags will leave the WCC to join the reconstituted Pac-12 for the 2026–27 season. In Tuesday night's postgame news conference, a reporter asked Bennett how much he'll miss facing the Zags and if he might enjoy not having to face them.
“We'll miss 'em,” Bennett said. “As a competitor, you want to play against the best—and they're one of the best. They've helped us get to the level we're at. Iron sharpens iron. We've been going at it for a long time. So, yeah, we'll totally miss 'em.”
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly for KPIX-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has begun working alongside Brian Brownfield on the Gaels' men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.
