MORAGA, Calif. — For the third time this season and first time in WCC play, Saint Mary's (12-3, 2-0 WCC) held an opponent under 50 points, limiting the Pepperdine Waves (6-10, 0-3 WCC) to just 41 points in a 71-41 victory Thursday night. Saint Mary's overbearing physicality was on display from the get go, with the Gaels finishing +20 on the glass, +22 in paint scoring and +13 in second chance scoring. The Gaels were the last team to hold the Waves under 50 in a game, back in the 2022-23 season, and did it again this evening in a tremendous defensive showing.
Pepperdine hit an early three two and a half minutes in to take their lone lead of the half at 3-2, but from that moment on, it was all Gaels, as Saint Mary's nearly doubled up on the Waves for the remainder of the half, outscoring them 33-17 over the final 17:30 of the opening frame to take a 35-20 lead into the break. Luke Barrett did not leave the floor in half one, and was the lone double-digit scorer for the Gaels, with 10 points to go along with a couple of steals. Mitchell Saxen and Paulius Murauskas were both dominant on the boards, with nine and eight rebounds respectively, helping the Gaels to a +9 advantage on the glass at the half. Jordan Ross also contributed to rebounding front, with five, to go along with four points and a team-high five assists. Saint Mary's scored more points in the paint (22) than Pepperdine scored total (20) in the first half, as the Gaels defense shined, holding the Waves to 28% shooting from the field and 33% shooting from three.
The Gaels took their 15 point lead, and extended out to 20 in the first 5:35 of the second. From that point, Pepperdine would never get back within 16 points of the Gaels, as the lead ballooned to as large as 34 points, before eventually settling at 30, 71-41. Mikey Lewis shined off the bench in the second half, scoring 10 points to go along with three dimes. Luke Barrett added six points and seven second half rebounds after being limited to just one in the first stanza. Jordan Ross assisted on three more buckets as well without turning the ball over. The Gaels ripped down nine more offensive boards, four belonging to Barrett, resulting in 11 second chance points in the second half, to Pepperdine's 2.
Luke Barrett led a group of three double-digit scorers for the Gaels with 16 points on 6-11 shooting. Barrett also ripped down eight rebounds and recorded a team-high two steals in the contest. Mikey Lewis dropped 14 points, and was the only Gael to hit multiple threes in the game. Paulius Murauskas rounded out the double figure scorers with 11 points to go along with 12 boards for his eighth double-double in 15 career games as a Gael. Mitchell Saxen ripped down 11 rebounds, including a team bst eight o-boards, but wound up just two points short of his 22nd career double-double. Jordan Ross was held scoreless in the second half, but demonstrated his outstanding playmaking ability with eight assists and no turnovers. The Gaels held Pepperdine to a season-low 41 points on 12.5% shooting from three (including no made threes in the second half) in a dominant defensive performance.
AT HOME IN THE PAINT
Saint Mary's scored 40 points in the paint tonight to Pepperdine's 41 points total. The Gaels finished shooting 20-36 inside the key resulting in 40 of their 71 points (56.3% of their points). Leading the way on the interior scoring was Luke Barrett, who generated 10 of his 16 points in the paint. All eight of Mitchell Saxen's points were scored in the key, as were all six of Harry Wessels', who was a perfect 3-3 from the field. This marks the sixth time this season that the Gaels have scored 40 or more points in the paint in a single game.
PRISTINE POINT GUARD PLAY
While his scoring was limited to just four points tonight, Jordan Ross delivered huge point guard minutes for the Gaels. The sophomore out of Pleasant Grove, Utah matched his career-high with eight dimes without recording a single turnover. Ross, who ranks second on the team with 48 assists, now leads the Gaels with an assist to turnover ratio of 2.67 for the year.
WESSELS BACK ON TRACK AND INTO THE HISTORY BOOKS
Harry Wessels scored his first point since December 14 tonight, going for six points on a perfect 3-3 shooting night from the field. With his third made field goal, Wessels has now made 100 buckets in his Gaels career, qualifying him for the record books in field goal percentage. For his career, Harry is a 62.1% field goal shooter, which currently ranks him second all-time behind only his fellow countryman and current NBA player Jock Landale, who shot 62.5% for his SMC career.
POSTGAME CHATS
UP NEXT
The Gaels will head north to Portland for their first WCC road contest on Saturday, January 4. Tip off will be at 7 PM from the Chiles Center.
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