MORAGA, Calif. — It's been seven days since the Gaels (15-3, 5-0 WCC) offensive firework show in San Diego, as SMC downed the Toreros 103-56, making them the first WCC school to reach the century mark in a conference matchup this season. After getting a chance to catch their breaths, they'll next be in action on Saturday, January 18 at Firestone Fieldhouse, as the Pepperdine Waves (7-11, 1-4 WCC) welcome the Gaels to Malbu for a 7 PM primetime showdown. This will be the second meeting between the Gaels and Waves this season, with the Saint Mary's besting Pepperdine 71-41 in Moraga just a little over two weeks ago. 

THE DETAILS 
Saint Mary's Gaels at Pepperdine Waves
Saturday, January 18 at 7 PM
Firestone Fieldhouse – Malibu, Calif. 
WATCH | LISTEN | LIVE STATS

ROAD SWEET ROAD
With Gonzaga falling to Oregon State earlier this week, Saint Mary's now holds the longest active road winning streak in the NCAA, with 12 in a row. The Gaels last road loss came in Spokane on 2-25-23. After going unbeaten on the road in the 2023-24 season, including signature wins at Gonzaga and Colorado State, the Gaels have won their first three true road contests in 2024-25 and will hope to extend their lead out in this active road win streak, as Houston sits in second behind the Gaels with just six straight road wins. On the road this season, the Gaels are scoring 85.3 points per game, compared to just 77.5 at home, and are allowing just 59.0 points per game away, while surrendering 62.6 per game inside UCU Pavilion. On the road, the Gaels have five different players averaging double-digit scoring (Murauskas, Marciulionis, Lewis, Saxen and Ross) headlined by Paulius Murauskas, averaging nearly 15 points and seven boards per game in enemy territory. 

PG1A
While Augustas Marciulionis continues to be the primary point guard for this Gaels offense, with a team high 101 assists, Jordan Ross has complimented him nicely, serving as a second floor general in the Gaels two point guard system. Since the start of conference play, Ross has 21 assists, second to only Marciulionis with 23, but has only turned the ball over once in these first five games of WCC action. In that time, Ross has seen his season assist/turnover ratio creep up to 3.11, good for second in the conference and 23rd in the nation. He has led the Gaels to a 1.68 team assist/turnover, ranking 12th in the country. 

ABOUT THE WAVES
Pepperdine was able to get back into action last night after a 12 day absence from the court due to the fires raging in Southern California. The Waves hosted San Francisco on Thursday, and while they hung close with the Dons for long stretches, they were eventually bested 80-63 to move to 7-11 and 1-4 in WCC play. Head Coach Ed Schilling continues to tool with his squad, and has seen his team play much better at Firestone Fieldhouse (5-4) than away from home (2-7). The Waves have rolled out the same starting five over the last six games, but got a big boost back to their lineup, with Zion Bethea returning for his first action since 12/19 against the Dons on Thursday. Bethea started the first 12 games of the year for Pepperdine, and now adds a solid additional weapon to this team now in the heart of WCC action. Offensively, the team has been lead by the dynamic duo of Moe Odum and Stefan Todorovic. Odum has established himself as one of the top point guards in the conference since transferring to Pepperdine from Pacific, shooting 45% from the field, averaging 13 points per game, and dishing 129 assists, good for sixth in the country. Meanwhile Todorovic has hovered around 20 points per game all season, currently averaging 19.1, good for second in the WCC. Back on January 2, however, the Gaels were able to keep these two in check, as Todorovic scored just 10 and Odum scored 14 but was limited to just one assist. Defensively, Boubacar Coulibaly is the conference's leading shot blocker, with 30 on the year, including two against the Gaels. The Gaels are 80-74 all-time vs Pepperdine, and have won 10 of their last 11 meetings. 

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

#GaelsRise