MORAGA, Calif. — Coming off of their season opening victory over Stanislaus State, Saint Mary's Men's Basketball will welcome some stiffer competition to UCU Pavilion to finish out the opening week of the season, as the New Mexico Lobos and Weber State Wildcats make their ways to Moraga. The Gaels are in the midst of an 11 game home winning streak, and will hope to push that to 13 by the end of this weekend.
THE DETAILS
Saint Mary's Gaels vs. New Mexico Lobos
Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 PM
UCU Pavilion - Moraga, Calif.
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Saint Mary's Gaels vs. Weber State Wildcats
Sunday, November 12 at 5:00 PM
UCU Pavilion - Moraga, Calif.
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Live Stats
RECORD BREAKING SEASON OPENER
The Gaels opened their season with a dominant display of excellence against Stanislaus State, using their size and physicality to stifle the scrappy Warriors in a 107-28 victory. The 79 point margin of victory marked the largest in program history. The previous record belonged to the 2010-11 Gaels, who defeated Chicago State by a 121-52 tally. The 28 points allowed marked the fewest points allowed by the Gaels in a single game since the 2016-17 team held San Diego to 27 points.
FLEXING THEIR MUSCLE
The Gaels relied heavily on their big men on Monday evening, as the quartet of Mason Forbes, Joshua Jefferon, Mitchell Saxen and Harry Wessels scored more than half of Saint Mary's 107 points and ripped down more than half of the teams 59 rebounds. This group imposed their will on the interior both offensively and defensively, leading the Gaels to 62 points in the paint and 23 second chance points, while limiting Stanislaus 12 points and eight points in those respective categories. Look for opposing teams to put more emphasis on post defense against the Gaels in the future, which should open up more space for the guards to work on the perimeter.
ABOUT THE LOBOS
New Mexico is coming off of a 92-55 victory over Texas Southern in Albuquerque Monday evening. Not surprisingly, Jamall Mashburn Jr. led the way for the Lobos with 15 points. Mashburn was the leading scorer in the Mountain West Conference a season ago, and looks to continue to be UNM's offensive focal point again this season. The only hiccup in what was a dominant performance Monday night for the Lobos was the inability to take care of the basketball, as UNM turned the ball over 13 times. Mashburn and fellow preseason All-Mountain West selectee Jaelen House should lead a high quality backcourt for third year Head Coach Richard Pitino. Coach Pitino also brought in a strong slew of newcomers this year, from the prep ranks and transfer portal alike. Headlining the group are two-time first team All-MAAC honoree Nelly Junior Johnson (Iona), 2023 first team All-Southland Conference honoree Isaac Mushila (Texas A&M Corpus Christi) and freshman guard Tru Washington (AZ Compass Prep), the highest rated recruit to come to New Mexico in a decade. The Lobos made a nine win jump from Coach Pitino's first to second season, and look to continue that positive trajectory this year. The 2022-23 UNM season came to an end a season ago in the opening round of the NIT, as the Lobos fell to Utah Valley in Albuquerque. Last season, the Lobos got the best of the Gaels in Moraga 69-65, forcing the typically sure handed Gaels to turn the ball over 15 times. Jaelen House led the way in that one with 17 points and six steals. The Lobos lead the all-time series 3-1.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
The Weber State Wildcats, under the second year direction of Head Coach Eric Duft, make the trek to Moraga from Ogden, Utah for the first time in 12 seasons. Like the Gaels, the preseason Big Sky favorite Wildcats opened their season with a win over a non-NCAA DI opponent, defeating Benedictine Mesa of the NAIA ranks, 96-62. In the contest, Weber State got a 26 point outpouring from preseason Big Sky MVP selectee Dillon Jones. Jones participated in last year's NBA draft combine, but opted to return for his junior season in Ogden. With Jones' decision to come back, the Wildcats return both of their all conference honorees from last season (Jones and Steven Verplancken) and all five of their starters from a season ago, and look to build off of last season's 18-15 campaign that came to an end in the Big Sky Semifinals. Looking to help that cause is Colorado Mesa transfer Blaise Threatt and European freshmen Marko Sarenac (Serbia) and Viljami Vartiainen (Finland). This meeting will mark the fifth all-time between these two programs, with the Gaels sitting at a perfect 4-0 all-time vs the Wildcats.
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