Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | SMC Sweeps Conference Player of the Week Awards
2/6/2023 10:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
SAN MATEO, Calif. — After one of the biggest weeks of the season for Saint Mary's, the awards continue to pile up. Mitchell Saxen has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week and Aidan Mahaney wins his sixth-straight WCC Freshman of the Week award.
Saxen recorded back-to-back double-doubles as the Gaels won both WCC games this week, including an overtime thriller against No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday night. Against USF, Saxen put up a 10/10 game, but followed that up with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance against the Bulldogs. Saxen is currently in a run of three-straight double-doubles, the longest of his collegiate career. He leads the conference in rebounds, blocks (had three this week), and is second in field goal percentage behind only Drew Timme (shot 61.5% this week).
When the Gaels needed big buckets down the stretch against both San Francisco and No. 12 Gonzaga, Mahaney delivered. The freshman scored 17 and 18 points in Gael wins this week, but continued to burst onto the national scene in Saturday's overtime win against Gonzaga. He scored 16 points in the final six minutes of regulation and overtime, including scoring or assisting on 19 of 21 points during one stretch. His efforts helped the Gaels erase an eight-point deficit and come back to beat Gonzaga in Moraga for the second time in as many seasons.
This is the second time this season that the Gaels have swept the weekly awards from the conference, with January 16 being the other week. It's the second Player of the Week win for a Gaels player, and the ninth win of the award for Mahaney, one shy of tying the most in a single season in WCC history.
The Gaels will look to keep the good times rolling on the road next week with a pair of road games, part of three-straight away from home. Saint Mary's first plays at Loyola Marymount on Thursday, February 9 at 6:00 pm on regional sports networks around the state before heading all the way up to Portland on February 11 for a showdown with the Portland Pilots. That contest will tip-off at 3:00 pm on CBS Sports Network.
Saxen recorded back-to-back double-doubles as the Gaels won both WCC games this week, including an overtime thriller against No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday night. Against USF, Saxen put up a 10/10 game, but followed that up with a 15-point, 11-rebound performance against the Bulldogs. Saxen is currently in a run of three-straight double-doubles, the longest of his collegiate career. He leads the conference in rebounds, blocks (had three this week), and is second in field goal percentage behind only Drew Timme (shot 61.5% this week).
When the Gaels needed big buckets down the stretch against both San Francisco and No. 12 Gonzaga, Mahaney delivered. The freshman scored 17 and 18 points in Gael wins this week, but continued to burst onto the national scene in Saturday's overtime win against Gonzaga. He scored 16 points in the final six minutes of regulation and overtime, including scoring or assisting on 19 of 21 points during one stretch. His efforts helped the Gaels erase an eight-point deficit and come back to beat Gonzaga in Moraga for the second time in as many seasons.
This is the second time this season that the Gaels have swept the weekly awards from the conference, with January 16 being the other week. It's the second Player of the Week win for a Gaels player, and the ninth win of the award for Mahaney, one shy of tying the most in a single season in WCC history.
The Gaels will look to keep the good times rolling on the road next week with a pair of road games, part of three-straight away from home. Saint Mary's first plays at Loyola Marymount on Thursday, February 9 at 6:00 pm on regional sports networks around the state before heading all the way up to Portland on February 11 for a showdown with the Portland Pilots. That contest will tip-off at 3:00 pm on CBS Sports Network.
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