MORAGA, Calif. — Saturday night was a jam-packed night inside University Credit Union Pavilion, and the stakes were certainly high. Saint Mary's Men's Basketball welcomed in Santa Clara for their second matchup of the season on Australian Heritage Night and a soldout crowd saw the Gaels put on a show. Another efficient performance by the offense helped power the Gaels past the Broncos by a final score of 77-58. With the win, the Gaels are now 18-4 (7-0) and the Broncos are now 16-6 (4-3).
 
SPRINTERS
So much of the success for Saint Mary's as of late has been the ability to jump out to an early run and then put the team away. The Gaels certainly were the beneficiaries of a lengthy first-half run, one that lasted over six minutes and saw the Gaels outscore the Broncos 13-3. It began with baskets from Aidan Mahaney and Mitchell Saxen to put SMC in front for the first time, and then after a three-pointer from Santa Clara, the Gaels scored the next nine points. Alex Ducas knocked down a three-pointer as a quick answer, and then the bigs got going. Harry Wessels was part of that mix, scoring six-straight points for the Gaels to help push the lead up to as many as nine points at 21-12. During that run, the Broncos were just 1-11 from the floor.
 
BLITZKRIEG
The second half began with a very similar type of run, where Saint Mary's caught the Broncos by storm and blitzed their way to a quick 8-0 run over 90 seconds, and a 16-2 run over the next five minutes. SMC made six shots during that span, and four of those came from beyond the arc. Mahaney nailed the first one, and then the Aussies came alive on Australian Heritage Night. Ducas hit a pair of triples before Kyle Bowen got his first of the night, and suddenly the Gaels turned what was a 40-34 lead into a 56-36 rout. It never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way.
 
20 FOR 20
After a quiet night on the road at Pepperdine, Mahaney bounced back in a big way for Saint Mary's. The freshman was on fire for the Gaels, coming out of the gates in the first half with 15 points, his third 15-point half of the season. His increased efficiency was on display with his three-point shooting, where he was 4-6 from beyond the arc. Mahaney now has six games of 20 or more points, just two behind Patty Mills for the most all-time by a Saint Mary's freshman.
 
MAKINGS OF A WIN
Points off of turnovers were a big story in the game, as the Gaels got 24 while holding the Broncos to just 4 (SMC had just eight turnovers)…it was an efficient night offensively for the Gaels, who shot 52.6% from the floor and 9-20 (45%) from distance…Saxen (14), Johnson (13), and Ducas (13) joined Mahaney in double-digits…Wessels had a good stretch of five minutes early in the game, which saw him get six points and five rebounds…for the second game in a row, just one Gael (Bowen – 35) played more than 31 minutes.  
UP NEXT
Next week features just one game for the Gaels, who should be rested and ready to go for their road game against BYU next Saturday. It will be the final trip to Provo in West Coast Conference play for SMC, as the Cougars are set to depart the WCC at the end of the season. The game will tip-off at 7:00 pm PT and will be televised on ESPN2. Saint Mary's has not won at BYU since December 30, 2017.