Starting Five in a home victory over Gonzaga: From left, Mitchell Saxen, Luke Barrett, Augustas Marciulionis, Paulius Marauskas, and Jordan Ross / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
Kroner’s Corner: ‘This Team Was Special’—A Look at an Epic Basketball Season
Yes, it was tough to lose in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. But with all they accomplished this year, Saint Mary’s has plenty to be proud of.
Of the 68 teams that make the NCAA Tournament, 67 must deal with some degree of disappointment in that they didn't win the national title. After the season ended for Saint Mary's with an 80–66 loss to Alabama in a second-round matchup in Cleveland on Sunday night, the Gaels acknowledged the disappointment but said their overwhelming emotion was pride.
There was pride in a 29–6 record and pride in a second consecutive outright West Coast Conference regular season title. And, most important, there was pride in the way the Gaels reached almost all of the goals they established before the season began.
“I have nothing but positive feelings,” said Head Coach Randy Bennett, who finished his 24th season leading the Gaels. “Obviously, you don't like to lose, but…[this team] was special. I’ve done it long enough. I know when it’s special. This group was special, and I just thank them and appreciate them for making it that way.”
Outside of the Gaels’ locker room at Rocket Arena, senior forward Luke Barrett said, “When you have a team this special, you feel like you can go all the way, but [I'm] proud of how far we came.”
The main reason the Gaels, the No. 7 seed in the East Region, couldn't go as far as the Sweet 16 was their inability to hit open shots in the first half against Bama, the No. 2 seed. Saint Mary’s ran its offense pretty darn well in the opening 20 minutes—committing zero turnovers—but the Gaels went 9-for-36 from the floor, missing all six of their three-point attempts.
That enabled the Tide (27–8) to build a 41–28 edge at the break. Though Saint Mary's stayed within striking distance until the final three minutes, that first-half deficit proved too much to overcome.
“At the end of the day, you have to make some shots,” Bennett said. “We didn't shoot the ball well enough to win that game, nor did we defend them well enough.”
While the Gaels held Bama well below its season average of 91.1 per game, the Tide shot 51.8% from the floor and scored more points than any SMC opponent this season. But it is worth noting that in Alabama’s Sweet 16 matchup against BYU on March 27, the Tide rolled over the Cougars 113–88.
Wins, Rebounding, Stifling Defense
The Gaels opened the season with seven straight wins. They also put together winning streaks of 10 and eight games. They went 17–1 in WCC play—their best conference record ever—and finished three games ahead of second-place Gonzaga, the largest margin ever by which they have won a conference title. Through Sunday, SMC topped the nation in rebounding margin—an impressive +10.3 per game—and was fifth in the country in fewest points allowed per game at 61.1.
Seniors Augustas Marciulionis, Mitchell Saxen, and Luke Barrett led the Gaels to their fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Before this run, the Gaels’ longest streak of NCAA appearances was two.
“I’m really, really proud of what this group has accomplished,” Saxen said, “and that’s all 15 [players, including redshirts]. Us three seniors have been doing it a while, but the young guys really stepped up.”
Those young guys included junior center Harry Wessels, sophomores Paulius Murauskas and Jordan Ross, and freshman guard Mikey Lewis.
Wessels provided scoring, rebounding, and shot blocking off the bench in the final two months of the season. A forward who transferred from Arizona, Murauskas was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year and averaged 12.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. Ross, a guard who played sparingly as a freshman, started all 35 games and sparked the Gaels’ rally from a 12-point deficit against Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament opener by scoring 13 of his 15 points after halftime. Lewis, who displayed a textbook shooting stroke, helped SMC beat Gonzaga twice by scoring 16 and 18 points, respectively, in those two victories.
Meanwhile, Bennett often mentioned how the examples set by Barrett, Marciulionis, and Saxen helped keep the Gaels on the right path throughout the season. In turn, those three players often mentioned how the leaders who preceded them in Moraga—namely, guards Tommy Kuhse and Logan Johnson, and forwards Kyle Bowen and Alex Ducas—had set the tone in previous seasons.
So, how do this season's seniors think they've influenced their younger teammates?
“Hopefully, they just see how much we care about this program, how much we care about the team,” Barrett said. “That's where I'll put us up against any group of leaders—[in terms] of just how much we cared, how much we brought it every day.…There wasn’t anything that we cared more about than having the best season we could have—and I think that speaks for itself.”
Saxen said the Gaels “have had really, really good practices all season, dudes going at it, and I think that’s a recipe for success long-term. I hope the younger guys were taking notes like me and Augustas were taking notes” from Kuhse and Co.
Said Marciulionis: “We have great guys, a lot of talent, and great dudes in general, and I really hope that we can leave a positive impact on them, and that they’re going to make this place even better.”
The Natural Question
At the end of any season, the natural question is, What will next season bring?
Bennett first cautioned that any team’s future “is a little more unstable nowadays because of the dynamics of college basketball,” referring to the transfer portal and NIL money. That said, Bennett offered an optimistic assessment.
“I think we can get back here,” Bennett said, referring to the NCAA Tournament. “We’ll have enough pieces if we can get them to follow the lead of these three seniors and have that kind of leadership again next year.
“I love my coaching staff, and I like the quality of kids we have, and we have enough talent to be…who knows? We can maybe be better next year. Maybe.”
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+.
