MALIBU, Calif. — Saint Mary's Men's Basketball made an appearance in Malibu on Thursday night, taking on the Pepperdine Waves inside the Firestone Fieldhouse. In a battle of tempos, with the Gaels trying to slow down the Waves frenetic offense, Saint Mary's prevailed to the tune of a 73-44 win. The Gaels improve to 17-4 (6-0), the first WCC team to reach six wins, while sending Pepperdine to 7-13 (0-6).
 
MAKING A SPLASH
It took a few minutes for the Gaels offense to get rolling against the Waves, but they took control in the middle of the first half. Saint Mary's used a 17-3 run to turn what was a slim 10-8 right after the first media timeout into a 27-11 advantage. The offense was running solely through Alex Ducas for a period of time, as Ducas made nine points during that run, and finished the first half with four three-pointers, tying a season-high with nine attempts. Augustas Marciulionis also made an impact during the run, dishing out three assists in his first action of the game. Pepperdine closed the half on a 9-0 run, but the Gaels were in firm command after extended run propelled them forward.
 
KOWABUNGA!
It seems to come in ebbs and flows, but on Thursday night, the Gaels were taking a heavy load of three-pointers, and they were finding success from beyond the arc. SMC finished the game shooting 11-29, tying their most in a West Coast Conference game this season. Ducas was the primary culprit in making it rain in Malibu, going 5-11 to pace all players in the game. Other Gaels with multiple threes included Kyle Bowen (3) and Mahaney (2).
 
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE
The Saint Mary's defense has arguably been as good as it's ever been this year, and that was on display against the Waves. After holding Pepperdine to just 33.3% from the field in the first half, the defense tightened up in the second stanza. Pepperdine hit their first shot of the half and then proceeded to miss their next 13 shots, which spanned over 13 minutes. Not only was there interior defense strong, but they played well on the perimeter, limiting the Waves to just 3-14 from distance. When the final horn sounded, the Saint Mary's defense held the Waves to just 30.2% from the floor, their third-best defensive performance of the year.
 
FINAL NUMBERS
The Gaels racked up an impressive 18 assists on 28 made shots, with Marciulionis recording a career-best seven in the win…Logan Johnson wound up as the team's leading scorer with 17 points, his third-straight game with at least 17 points…it was another dominant night on the boards for SMC, with 45 compared to just 27 for Pepperdine…four Gaels had at least six rebounds, with Johnson coming one shy of a double-double…SMC had just three turnovers in the second half after 11 in the first half…Saint Mary's has scored 70+ points in five-straight games for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
 
UP NEXT
The Gaels return home for their second matchup of the season against the Santa Clara Broncos, with the second installment taking place on Saturday, January 21 at 5:00 pm on NBC Sports Bay Area. Saint Mary's took down the Broncos 67-64 in what was the second WCC game of the season, on New Year's Eve. It still stands as the only game that SMC has won where they've trailed at halftime. Saturday's game will follow a Women's Basketball game at 1:00 pm, and occur after the 2023 Alumni Awards ceremony in the Soda Center.