MORAGA, Calif. — In a marquee mid-major matchup, the Saint Mary's Gaels (10-3) welcomed Utah State (11-1) to Moraga for their first true road matchup of the year. The Aggies were coming off of their first loss of the season earlier this week, and played with a hunger against the Gaels, taking a narrow 6-5 lead less than four minutes in, and never relinquishing it. Saint Mary's, after trailing by as many as 17 in the second half, would cut the deficit back to six, but that would be as close as they would get in the second period, ultimately falling 75-68. The Gaels round out non-conference play with a 10-3 record, an improvement from last year's 9-6 regular season non-conference slate.
One of the better scoring offenses that the Gaels have seen this season, Utah State put up 39 points in the first half, shooting 54% from the field. Saint Mary's led for just 1:41 in the first frame, with their latest lead coming at 5-4 just three and a half in. The Aggies would lead by as many as 14 before taking a 12 point lead into the break. Paulius Murauskas led the Gaels in the first half with six points and three rebounds, while Mitchell Saxen chipped in five points and two steals, while tying his season high for assists with four in just one half of play. Nine of Saint Mary's 11 buckets were made off of assists, and they limited their turnovers to just four in the first frame for an assist to turnover north of two.
Utah State would connect on 12 of their first 14 field goal attempts to open the second half, outscoring the Gaels 25-20 in the first 10 minutes and change to extend their lead out to 17 points with 9:39 to go. The Gaels began to chip away at the deficit little by little however. Their first positive stretch came immediately after the Aggies took their 17 point lead, as a 7-0 Gaels run over the next 1:50 cut the deficit back to 10 at 64-54. Utah State would rebound to keep the lead between 10 and 14 points until, with 2:30 left, Augustas Marciulionis fed Ashton Hardaway for a three to bring the score to 70-61. Mikey Lewis and Mitchell Saxen would help the Gaels to get within six with a three from Lewis and a free throw each, bringing the score to 72-66 with 30 seconds left, but the Utah State would knock down three of four free throws on their next two possessions, ultimately earning the W, 75-68. Mitchell Saxen was a force for the Gaels in the second half, scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting, and ripping down four rebounds (three offensive). Augustas Marciulionis did a little bit of everything in the second stanza, with seven points, five assists and two steals, while Luke Barrett ripped down five rebounds, helping the Gaels to a +2 advantage on the glass in the second half. The Gaels went 7-15 from three in the second half, led by Mikey Lewis, who knocked down both of his attempts from downtown.
Mitchell Saxen led the Gaels in scoring for the second consecutive game, with 18 points on 7-11 shooting. Saxen also had six rebounds (four offensive), good for second on the team, four assists, tying his season-high, and a team-high three steals. Augustas Marciulionis and Mikey Lewis each scored 12 and recorded two steals, with Lewis draining 3-5 three point attempts, and Marciulionis collecting eight assists. Saint Mary's recorded 20 assists for the fourth time this season, with 20 of their 24 buckets being scored off of assists. The Gaels also connected on double-digit three pointers for the second time this season, and shot 40% or better from beyond the arc for the fourth time.
BIG WEEK FOR BIG SAXEN
Just three days after scoring a season high 18 points against Merrimack, Mitchell Saxen matched that total tonight against Utah State. The big man was held to just five first half points and two first half rebounds, but exploded for 13 and four respectively in the second half. While Saxen struggled to score in the first half, he did assist on four baskets, tying his season-high and had two steals, adding one more in the second frame. This week, Saxen scored 36 points, shot 13-24 from the field, ripped down 18 boards, dished out five assists, and defensively recorded two blocks and five steals, making it one of his most productive weeks of the season.
BACK TO HIS SCORING WAYS
Following his 23 point outpouring against Nebraska that earned him both WCC Freshman and Player of the Week honors, true freshman guard Mikey Lewis had been held below double-digits in each of his last eight contests, including being held scoreless against Merrimack in a season low nine minutes of play. That changed tonight, as the Oakland native dropped 12 against the Aggies, burying 3-5 three point attempts, and coming up with a pair of big steals down the stretch. With his final bucket tonight, Lewis surpassed Jonathan Sanders, Jorden Page and Alex Ducas to move into the top-20 in freshman scoring for Gaels to have played under Randy Bennett. Lewis is only 73 points from cracking the top-10, and 79 points from becoming the 10th freshman under Bennett to score 200 points in their premier campaign.
WELCOME TO THE SCORING SHEET JOSH DENT
While Lewis shined tonight, another true freshman also had a solid showing, as Joshua Dent appeared in his eighth game as a Gaels, recording 12 minutes of play, and scoring his first collegiate points, while distributing a career best three assists. Dent's plays came when the Gaels needed someone to step up midway through the second half. Dent entered the game with 14:22 remaining, and the Gaels down 14. He assisted on a Mikey Lewis triple that brought the Gaels to within 13 on his second offensive possession, then assisted on an Augustas Marciulionis three 90 seconds later. His third assist would come at the 11:06 mark, this time on a Luke Barrett three to cut the deficit to 11. After demonstrating his ability as a facilitator, Dent showed a bit of his scoring ability too, as with 7:30 left, Paulius Murauskas picked Dexter Akanno's pocket and threw an outlet pass forward to Dent, who, in stride, knocked down a three for his first collegiate points, bringing the Gaels within 10 and forcing a Utah State timeout. While his statline reads just three points and three assists, Dent gave the Gaels a jolt that they desperately needed in their comeback attempt against the Aggies.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will be off for six day before returning to UCU Pavilion for their conference opener, as the Pacific Tigers come to town on December 28. Tip off is set for 5 PM in that one.
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