MORAGA, Calif. — The West Coast Conference might be on notice after Saturday night's Saint Mary's Men's Basketball contest against the Portland Pilots. The Gaels put together one of their most dominant performances in recent memories to down the Pilots by a final of 85-43, scoring points at will on one side and limiting points on the other side. With the victory, Saint Mary's is now 14-4 (3-0) while dropping Portland to 8-10 (0-3).
 
ONE LONG RUN
It felt like the entire first half was a run for Saint Mary's, who came out with a much sharper defensive intensity than they did on Tuesday night against the Academy of Art. The Urban Knights scored 15 points on their first six possessions against the Gaels; the Pilots scored just 14 points in the first half. Saint Mary's went on a 14-0 run after the game was tied 2-2, spanning five minutes, and it was pushed to 20-2 over an extended period that was nearly 10 minutes. Everything was clicking for the Gaels in the first half, as they held Portland to more free throws made (6) than field goals made (4) in the first 20 minutes
 
SEEING DOUBLE
It seems like every night, there is a Gael putting up a double-double, and Saturday night was no exception. Saint Mary's got dominant post play all night long, led initially by Mitchell Saxen. The junior from Washington recorded his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-best 14 rebounds in the Gaels victory. Saxen nearly had a double-double in the first half (nine points, 10 rebounds) and would have had even loftier totals had the Gaels not needed to play him late in the game. That gives Saxen two double-doubles in the first three WCC games, and gives the Gaels five double-doubles on the season.
 
WHICH WAS BETTER?
Saint Mary's scored 85 points in the win, tying for the most they've scored in a game this year. They also held the Pilots to just 43, the second-lowest total they've allowed all year. The Gaels were stellar on both ends of the floor, shooting at a 52.4% clip for the game while holding Portland to just 26.1% from the field. The difference of 26.3% in net field goal percentage is the best for the Gaels against a DI opponent since a 71-27 win over San Diego on February 4, 2017 (sports-reference.com/cbb)
 
MAKINGS OF A WIN
Every Gael scored in the win, but amongst one of the surprises was Harry Wessels, who scored a career-best 12 points…Wessels was part of a larger dominance for the Gaels down low, where SMC held a 46-12 advantage over the Pilots in points in the paint…turnovers were also a story in the game, with Saint Mary's going +9 in turnover differential, leading to a 26-8 advantage in points off of turnovers…Portland did not have a steal while the Gaels had 11, the first time a Gaels opponent hasn't had a steal since December 28. 2019 (Seattle)…SMC's defense also held the Pilots to just one made three-pointer, the second time that's happened this year (Hofstra).  
UP NEXT
The Gaels will stay at home for the first game to be played next week when SMC hosts LMU on Thursday night at 6 pm. That will be the first of just two remaining home games for the Gaels in January, as Saint Mary's will play the next two games on the road. Thursday's game will be televised on CBS Sports Network. All remaining games for the Gaels will be televised locally or nationally.