Men's Basketball 10/31/2023 10:00:00 AM

MBB | Veteran Gaels Squad Looks to Make Third Straight Trip to NCAA Tournament

MORAGA, Calif. --- Saint Mary's Men's Hoops returns to the hardwood in 2023-24 after making back-to-back trips to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022 and 2023. Continuing their recent trend of excellence, the Gaels capped last season ranked 22nd in the country with a 27-8 overall record and a share of regular season WCC Title. Four student-athletes earned All-WCC status, while Head Coach Randy Bennett was honored as the conference's Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and fifth time in his illustrious career. The Gaels have proven to be one of the premier mid-major basketball programs in the country, and will look to keep that run going in the 2023-24 season.

The Gaels opened the 2022-23 campaign with six consecutive wins. They picked up a signature non-conference victory over eventual National Runner Up San Diego State in the Jerry Colangelo Classic. The Gaels and Aztecs will square off again in non-conference play this season in neutral territory, this time in Las Vegas. Saint Mary's set the tone early in WCC play, winning each of their first 10 conference matchups, headlined by a 78-70 overtime thriller over Gonzaga in Moraga. The Gaels walloped Pacific on Senior Night to set up a matchup with Gonzaga in Spokane with a chance to win the conference regular season title outright, but fell to the Zags, thus splitting the regular season WCC Title with them.

Saint Mary's defeated BYU in the WCC Tournament semifinal, setting up a Gaels-Zags clash for the third time on the year, with the Zags defeating the Gaels to win the conference tournament. Despite falling to Gonzaga, the Saint Mary's was selected as a #5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and made their way to Albany, New York, where they first would take on VCU. The Gaels shook off a slow start against the Rams, punching their ticket to the second round with 63-51 victory. Up next for Saint Mary's, the fourth-seeded UConn Huskies. Out of the gate, the Gaels were firing on all cylinders against the Huskies, leading for nearly 15 minutes of the first half, and trailing by just one at halftime. Saint Mary's took their final lead at the 16 minute mark of the second half, but the Huskies would close out the game 33-17 run to defeat the Gaels and continue their run that would end with them hoisting the National Championship trophy.

Coming into the 2023-24 campaign, the Gaels return three of their five starters from a season ago, after graduating Logan Johnson and Kyle Bowen. Freshman All-American Aidan Mahaney, First-Team All-WCC selectee Mitchell Saxen and Honorable Mention All-WCC selectee Alex Ducas look to be the focal points of the Saint Mary's group this season. Mahaney put together one of the best freshman campaigns ever in Moraga, as the Gaels returning leading scorer averaged 13.9 points per game, shooting 43% from the field and 40% from three. Saxen was a double-double machine for the Gaels a season ago, tallying eight on the year and averaging 11.6 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 56% from the field. The Gaels lead perimeter threat from 2022-23, Ducas accounted for 12.5 points per contest last year while shooting 41% from beyond the arc, narrowly edging Mahaney out for the lead in that category. Other key returners include last year's sixth man, Augustas Marciulionis (5.9 PPG, 41% FG), who will likely see time in the starting lineup this season, and sophomore big men Harry Wessels (2.6 PPG, 60% FG) and Joshua Jefferson (2.2 PPG, 43% FG). Mason Forbes, who sat out a season ago after transferring from Harvard, should be a factor early on for the Gaels. A 6-9 forward, Forbes appeared in 60 contests in his three years of competition at Harvard, shooting 62% from the field. He averaged a career-best eight points per game and five boards per game in his final season of competition with the Crimson in 2021-22.

There are three new faces to get to know on the Gaels side this year. 6-3 point guard Jordan Ross makes his way to Moraga from one of the top high school programs in the country, Arizona Compass Prep. Ross helped take Compass to the 2023 Geico High School Basketball National Championship game, leading his squad in assists in the process. Another Australian Centre for Excellence product, 6-10 forward Jensen Bradtke joined the Gaels out of Sandrighman, Victoria, Australia. Bradtke has shown a keen ability to score both inside and out, and could slot in as a wing or high post player. A local product, 7-1 center Andrew McKeever rounds out the group of newcomers, from nearby Livermore. While at Granada High School, McKeever averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and five assists per game in his senior season, leading his team to the CIF Division 1 State Championship game.

After opening their season with a charity exhibition game at the University of Hawaii to raise money for Maui Wildfire Relief, the Gaels will open their non-conference slate on November 6 at home against Stanislaus State. Key non-conference opponents include 2023 National Qualifiers San Diego State (Nov. 17, 32-7, 2022-23 National Runner Ups), Boise State (Dec. 1, 24-10), Northern Kentucky (Dec. 21, 22-13, 2022-23 Horizon League Champs) and Kent State (Dec. 29, 28-7, 2022-23 MAC Champs). Also on the non-conference docket are New Mexico (Nov. 6) and Colorado State (Dec. 9), as the Gaels will look to avenge last season's defeats at the hands of the Lobos and Rams.

As the Gaels wind into conference play in the start of 2024, look for the West Coast Conference to be strong as ever, despite the departure of BYU. With BYU no longer a member of the WCC, the conference slate is down to 16 games. The Gaels enter the year as defending co-Regular Season Champions of the WCC, and will look to pick up the ever difficult sweep of Gonzaga in 2024, hoping to win the conference regular season outright. The Gaels and Zags will match up first in Spokane on February 3 and then will close out the regular season in Moraga on March 2. Other challengers for the WCC crown include Santa Clara (Jan. 13 (A) and Jan. 31 (H)), LMU (Jan. 6 (A) and Feb. 6 (H)) and San Francisco (Jan. 20 (A) and Feb. 20 (H)).

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