MORAGA, Calif. — The Gaels (8-5) won their fifth straight on Thursday night with an absolutely stellar contest on both sides of the ball against Northern Kentucky (7-6). Saint Mary's faced early adversity in this one, falling behind in the early goings, but stuck with their game plan, and eventually began to connect on their shots at a staggering rate. While the Gaels defense put up yet another stellar performance, their offense really seemed to find its footing in this one, as the Gaels struck for 90+ points against a DI opponent for the first time since their defeat of San Jose State in December of 2020. 

Just like on Tuesday night against Middle Tennessee, the Gaels came out as the aggressors, opening the game on an early 5-0 run, but the Norse countered with a 12-3 run of their own. Luke Barrett drained a three at the 10:34 mark off a nice feed from Augustas Marciulionis to push Saint Mary's back ahead 15-14 and spark a run of five straight made buckets. The Gaels stayed hot throughout the remainder of the first half, taking their largest lead into the halftime break at 38-29. Marciulionis led the Gaels effort in the first half with 11 points and four assists, while Joshua Jefferson did not miss from the field en route to a 10 point, seven board half. 

Alex Ducas and Aidan Mahaney drained back to back threes to open the second half, and the flood gates opened up for the Gaels, who shot 67% from the field and 63% from three in the latter frame. Mahaney, who was held scoreless in the first half, removed the lid from the basket, scoring a team-high 11 in the second half, connecting on 3-4 three point attempts. 

It was a career game for Augustas Marciulionis, who not only scored a career-high 18 points, but also dished out a career best eight assists. Augustas was able to score inside and out, which drew additional defenders towards his direction. In these cases, the Lithuanian point guard quickly made those defenders pay by dishing the ball to his open teammates. Joshua Jefferson (15 pts 12 reb) and Mitchell Saxen (12 pts 13 reb) each tallied double-doubles, while Aidan Mahaney chipped in all 11 of his points in the second half. 

DOUBLE DOUBLE-DOUBLE
For the first time since 2018, the Gaels had two players record double-doubles in the same game, as Mitchell Saxen and Joshua Jefferson each played a major role in the Gaels massive scoring and rebounding advantages in this one. The last duo to accomplish this feat was Tommy Kuhse and Jordan Hunter, both enjoying successful careers overseas now. Kuhse and Hunter did so against Cal State Fullerton on 12/10/18 in an 81-66 victory. 

DID THE HOOP GET WIDER?
Well, it certainly seemed that way for Joshua Jefferson, who did not miss from the field, from three, or from the charity stripe in tonight's victory. Over the last five years, only three other Gaels have had games in which they were perfect from inside the arc, beyond the arc and from the free throw line: Dan Fotu (12/1/18 vs Cal), Tanner Krebs (11/24/19 vs Sonoma State), and Tommy Kuhse (2/16/19 vs Pepperdine) with none of these instances being double-double efforts like Jefferson's tonight. 

UNSELFISH BASKETBALL
A big reason as to why the offense was so successful tonight was the Gaels precise passing. For the third time this season, the Gaels eclipsed the 20 assist mark as a team, while turning the ball over just 12 times. This 1.83 assist to turnover ratio on the evening was well above the Gaels 1.17 average coming into the game, while their 22 team assists also surpassed the team average of 13.7 assists per game. Leading the way was Augustas Marciulionis, who not only led his team in scoring, but also dished out eight dimes, a new career-high, with only one turnover. Also tying their career-highs in assists were Joshua Jefferson (4) and Jordan Ross (3). 

UP NEXT
The Gaels will have another 48 hour turnaround, as they next play host to Missouri State on Saturday, December 23. Tip-off is set for 5:00 PM.

DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE. 

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