Photo by: SMC Athletics / Emily Smith
8/14/2022 1:36:00 AM | Men's Basketball
PERTH, Australia — The 2022 Foreign Tour of Australia came to a close on Sunday with the sixth and final game of the trip, with the Gaels taking on the Perth Wildcats of the NBL. In a closed scrimmage, the Wildcats gave the Gaels all they could handle, but Saint Mary's erased a deficit in the fourth quarter and came away with a 69-64 victory to close out the trip a perfect 6-0. This marks the first unbeaten foreign tour for the Gaels in program history
The offense was flowing in the first quarter, where the Gaels put up 22 points and closed out the quarter with a 14-4 run. The Wildcats came back and made some strong defensive adjustments, however, and put the Gaels offense on ice, limiting them to just 25 points in the second and third quarters combined. SMC still held a slim 37-35 lead going into the halftime intermission.
With the Gaels trailing 49-47 entering the fourth quarter, it was clear that the team wanted to close out the trip strong. They came out of the gates and scored the first nine points of the quarter to take the lead, one they would not relinquish. Their defense remained stout in the second half, holding the Wildcats to just 15 points in the fourth quarter and 14 points in the third quarter. With SMC up by three and less than 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Chris Howell forced a turnover and the Gaels hit a few free throws on the other side to put away the ballgame.
Mitchell Saxen was one of the top performers for the Gaels on both sides of the ball, putting up his third double-double of the trip with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Augustas Marciulionis delivered another steady performance as the starting point guard, scoring 12 with five rebounds and five assists. Kyle Bowen came one rebound shy of a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds), Howell added nine points with five boards, and Logan Johnson got up to nine points in his first significant playing time of the trip.
"All of us try to contribute off the court, but just getting back out there with the guys that you go to war with every day is an honor," Johnson explained. "Thanks to the NBL and the NBL1 for having us. We expect [to win all six games], after what the team we had last year did at home, we expect to go places and win games."
Playing six games over the span of eight days, the Gaels were able to walk away with a 6-0 record, the first time they've accomplished that overseas in program history. They did so again three NBL teams, and two NBL1 teams, facing some of the best competition in Australia.
Saxen spoke after the win about some of his favorite experiences on the trip down under: "Sydney was really cool, going on the cruise around the harbour, it reminded me a lot of San Francisco. Also, getting down here to Perth and seeing the local spots that Kyle Bowen and Alex Ducas could show us. We got out to the beach, so that was pretty fun."
There are a lot of different things that teams can take away from trips abroad, and head coach Randy Bennett has been on his share of those trips. He spoke to the team after the win and said this particular trip was a 10/10. He caught up with SMC Athletics following the game to explain the major takeaways from this year's foreign tour.
"The number one thing this does is help you become a team," Bennett said. "You get to know each other, you get tight. You spend 12 days together on the road. You learn how to travel, you learn your teammates…that's the big one."
"The other thing is that you get to play six games, and that's how you get good, by playing games," continued Bennett. "You need practice, you need reps, you need all that summer stuff, but the way you really gain confidence as a player and a team is by having success in games. We got that, we got like a fifth of a season on this trip. So that's the true value."
With time to kill before their red-eye flight to Sydney, and the return flight home to San Francisco, the Gaels spend the afternoon at Scarborough Beach, where the sun peaked through just enough to make it a pleasant afternoon.
Saint Mary's will enjoy some time to rest and refresh before the semester starts in late August. Practices will ramp back up and the Gaels will prepare to open their season at home against Oral Roberts on November 7. SMC begins the 2022-23 year with five-consecutive home games, including three against teams that have made the NCAA Tournament in either of the last two years. Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE.
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 Win, 69-64
The offense was flowing in the first quarter, where the Gaels put up 22 points and closed out the quarter with a 14-4 run. The Wildcats came back and made some strong defensive adjustments, however, and put the Gaels offense on ice, limiting them to just 25 points in the second and third quarters combined. SMC still held a slim 37-35 lead going into the halftime intermission.
With the Gaels trailing 49-47 entering the fourth quarter, it was clear that the team wanted to close out the trip strong. They came out of the gates and scored the first nine points of the quarter to take the lead, one they would not relinquish. Their defense remained stout in the second half, holding the Wildcats to just 15 points in the fourth quarter and 14 points in the third quarter. With SMC up by three and less than 20 seconds remaining on the clock, Chris Howell forced a turnover and the Gaels hit a few free throws on the other side to put away the ballgame.
Mitchell Saxen was one of the top performers for the Gaels on both sides of the ball, putting up his third double-double of the trip with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Augustas Marciulionis delivered another steady performance as the starting point guard, scoring 12 with five rebounds and five assists. Kyle Bowen came one rebound shy of a double-double (10 points, nine rebounds), Howell added nine points with five boards, and Logan Johnson got up to nine points in his first significant playing time of the trip.
"All of us try to contribute off the court, but just getting back out there with the guys that you go to war with every day is an honor," Johnson explained. "Thanks to the NBL and the NBL1 for having us. We expect [to win all six games], after what the team we had last year did at home, we expect to go places and win games."
Playing six games over the span of eight days, the Gaels were able to walk away with a 6-0 record, the first time they've accomplished that overseas in program history. They did so again three NBL teams, and two NBL1 teams, facing some of the best competition in Australia.
 |
 |
Saxen spoke after the win about some of his favorite experiences on the trip down under: "Sydney was really cool, going on the cruise around the harbour, it reminded me a lot of San Francisco. Also, getting down here to Perth and seeing the local spots that Kyle Bowen and Alex Ducas could show us. We got out to the beach, so that was pretty fun."
There are a lot of different things that teams can take away from trips abroad, and head coach Randy Bennett has been on his share of those trips. He spoke to the team after the win and said this particular trip was a 10/10. He caught up with SMC Athletics following the game to explain the major takeaways from this year's foreign tour.
"The number one thing this does is help you become a team," Bennett said. "You get to know each other, you get tight. You spend 12 days together on the road. You learn how to travel, you learn your teammates…that's the big one."
"The other thing is that you get to play six games, and that's how you get good, by playing games," continued Bennett. "You need practice, you need reps, you need all that summer stuff, but the way you really gain confidence as a player and a team is by having success in games. We got that, we got like a fifth of a season on this trip. So that's the true value."
With time to kill before their red-eye flight to Sydney, and the return flight home to San Francisco, the Gaels spend the afternoon at Scarborough Beach, where the sun peaked through just enough to make it a pleasant afternoon.
Saint Mary's will enjoy some time to rest and refresh before the semester starts in late August. Practices will ramp back up and the Gaels will prepare to open their season at home against Oral Roberts on November 7. SMC begins the 2022-23 year with five-consecutive home games, including three against teams that have made the NCAA Tournament in either of the last two years. Tickets can be purchased by clicking HERE.
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 Win, 69-64
#GaelsRise
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballWednesday, November 04
Wednesday, November 04
Monday, November 02
Monday, November 02
