Photo by: SMC Athletics / Emily Smith
8/12/2022 8:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PERTH, Australia — With the 2022 Foreign Tour of Australia winding down, Saint Mary's played its fifth game on the trip, squaring off against the Geraldton Buccaneers. In front of a good-sized crowd on a Friday night in Perth, the Gaels were able to get better every quarter and eventually downed the leaders of the NBL1 West, handing them a heavy 97-58 defeat. The Gaels are now 5-0 on this trip, and will look to close it out with a sweep on Sunday.
Things were tight after the first quarter, with the Gaels needing a Luke Barrett buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to put SMC up 23-20. Despite the score, the Gaels were doing a great job at distributing the basketball, with eight different scorers on the board after the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Gaels incrementally increased their scoring output per quarter (24 in the second, 25 in both the third and fourth quarters), while decreasing the scoring output of Geraldton. This culminated in a fourth quarter that saw Saint Mary's outscore the Buccaneers 25-7, including six points from Mason Forbes, who was one of the best players for SMC in the second half with seven points. The victory marked the third time in five games that the Gaels have scored at least 93 points.
Aidan Mahaney led the Gaels in scoring with 17 points, including 11 in the second stanza, and a game-best eight rebounds. Chris Howell was a bright spot for the Gaels as well, scoring 14 points and adding four rebounds. His performance was his best on the foreign tour, eclipsing the 13 points he put up against Sydney United.
Howell was quick to give credit to others for setting him up for success. "Everything just kind of came naturally. The coaches all put me in a good position to do what I do best," he explained. "And of course, my teammates. I have to give all the props to my teammates for setting me up pretty well and getting me open, little things like that."
Another Gael in double-digits was Barrett, who tallied 10 points (his most on this trip) with six rebounds. After having to sit out one game to injury, Barrett is back and feeling great.
"The coaches all told me to be really aggressive, that's usually my mindset every game," Barrett said after the win. "We got off to a slow start so the second time I got in there, I just tried to make as many plays as I could, whether I was scoring, passing, or just getting to the boards."
Games like Friday night's game offer fans a chance to see what players like Barrett can do, and he's been working plenty to get added time in the rotation for the 2022-23 season. The opportunity is there, and Barrett has a grip on the formula.
"I'm trying to work on making plays to win and just being solid every night," Barrett elaborated. "With our team, it always starts on the defensive end. If you can defend, you can stay on the court. And then just doing what I do best, getting on the boards on offense, trying to slash and get to the rim and create open shots."
Augustas Marciulionis added 11 points in the victory, knocking down a trio of shots from beyond the arc. Leemet Bockler did the same en route to 11 points, and all three of the Australians (Alex Ducas, Kyle Bowen, Harry Wessels) scored seven points in front of their families.
With one game left on the trip, the Gaels have the opportunity for a perfect 6-0 record, which has not been achieved by any Saint Mary's team in program history. For Howell, he agrees that he and his teammates want to run the table, and that it's on their minds.
"Oh yeah, for sure. As a team, that's what we do. We go into games expecting to win," Howell said when asked about wanting to go 6-0. "We take a lot of pride in that, especially going into the last game. We are always looking to do something we've never done before. We've gone undefeated on a foreign tour, so let's make history."
The final game of the 2022 Foreign Tour will take place on Sunday morning against the Perth Wildcats of the NBL. The event is a closed-scrimmage, taking place at 9:00 am on Sunday, which is 6:00 pm Saturday night in the Bay Area. As such, there will be no live stream or radio broadcast of the event. After the game, the Gaels will begin their journey back to the United States.
Saint Mary's 2022 Foreign Tour Game Schedule
Date Team Site Time (AEST/PT)
Aug. 7 Hills Hornets Castle Hill, Sydney Win, 93-62
Aug. 8 Sydney Uni Basketball Alexandria, Sydney Win, 122-60
Aug. 9 Melbourne United Keilor Park, Melb. Win, 88-67
Aug. 10 SE Melb Phoenix Frankston, Melb. Win, 86-74 (OT)
Aug. 12. Geraldton Buccaneers Trinity College Win, 97-58
Aug. 14 Perth Wildcats Floreat, Perth 9:00 am/6:00 pm
Things were tight after the first quarter, with the Gaels needing a Luke Barrett buzzer-beating three-pointer from the corner to put SMC up 23-20. Despite the score, the Gaels were doing a great job at distributing the basketball, with eight different scorers on the board after the first 10 minutes of the game.
The Gaels incrementally increased their scoring output per quarter (24 in the second, 25 in both the third and fourth quarters), while decreasing the scoring output of Geraldton. This culminated in a fourth quarter that saw Saint Mary's outscore the Buccaneers 25-7, including six points from Mason Forbes, who was one of the best players for SMC in the second half with seven points. The victory marked the third time in five games that the Gaels have scored at least 93 points.
Aidan Mahaney led the Gaels in scoring with 17 points, including 11 in the second stanza, and a game-best eight rebounds. Chris Howell was a bright spot for the Gaels as well, scoring 14 points and adding four rebounds. His performance was his best on the foreign tour, eclipsing the 13 points he put up against Sydney United.
Howell was quick to give credit to others for setting him up for success. "Everything just kind of came naturally. The coaches all put me in a good position to do what I do best," he explained. "And of course, my teammates. I have to give all the props to my teammates for setting me up pretty well and getting me open, little things like that."
Another Gael in double-digits was Barrett, who tallied 10 points (his most on this trip) with six rebounds. After having to sit out one game to injury, Barrett is back and feeling great.
"The coaches all told me to be really aggressive, that's usually my mindset every game," Barrett said after the win. "We got off to a slow start so the second time I got in there, I just tried to make as many plays as I could, whether I was scoring, passing, or just getting to the boards."
Games like Friday night's game offer fans a chance to see what players like Barrett can do, and he's been working plenty to get added time in the rotation for the 2022-23 season. The opportunity is there, and Barrett has a grip on the formula.
"I'm trying to work on making plays to win and just being solid every night," Barrett elaborated. "With our team, it always starts on the defensive end. If you can defend, you can stay on the court. And then just doing what I do best, getting on the boards on offense, trying to slash and get to the rim and create open shots."
Augustas Marciulionis added 11 points in the victory, knocking down a trio of shots from beyond the arc. Leemet Bockler did the same en route to 11 points, and all three of the Australians (Alex Ducas, Kyle Bowen, Harry Wessels) scored seven points in front of their families.
With one game left on the trip, the Gaels have the opportunity for a perfect 6-0 record, which has not been achieved by any Saint Mary's team in program history. For Howell, he agrees that he and his teammates want to run the table, and that it's on their minds.
"Oh yeah, for sure. As a team, that's what we do. We go into games expecting to win," Howell said when asked about wanting to go 6-0. "We take a lot of pride in that, especially going into the last game. We are always looking to do something we've never done before. We've gone undefeated on a foreign tour, so let's make history."
The final game of the 2022 Foreign Tour will take place on Sunday morning against the Perth Wildcats of the NBL. The event is a closed-scrimmage, taking place at 9:00 am on Sunday, which is 6:00 pm Saturday night in the Bay Area. As such, there will be no live stream or radio broadcast of the event. After the game, the Gaels will begin their journey back to the United States.
Saint Mary's 2022 Foreign Tour Game Schedule
Date Team Site Time (AEST/PT)
Aug. 7 Hills Hornets Castle Hill, Sydney Win, 93-62
Aug. 8 Sydney Uni Basketball Alexandria, Sydney Win, 122-60
Aug. 9 Melbourne United Keilor Park, Melb. Win, 88-67
Aug. 10 SE Melb Phoenix Frankston, Melb. Win, 86-74 (OT)
Aug. 12. Geraldton Buccaneers Trinity College Win, 97-58
Aug. 14 Perth Wildcats Floreat, Perth 9:00 am/6:00 pm
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