Friday, November 14
Moraga, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
4-0,0-0WCC
80
vs
49
North Texas
3-2,0-0American
1
2
F
North Texas
17
32
49
Saint Mary's (CA)
47
33
80
Mikey Lewis: 23 Points, 7-14 FG, 3-6 3pt, 6-6 FT
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Gaels Keep Things Rolling with 31 Point Victory Over North Texas
11/14/2025 10:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — Things are not looking good for teams rolling into UCU Pavilion in the early goings of the 2025-26 NCAA Men's Basketball season. The Saint Mary's Gaels (4-0) continued to defend their home court with furious vigor, downing North Texas (3-2) 80-49. While 80 points is the lowest tally scored by a Saint Mary's squad this season, the 49 points allowed was far more on-brand for a Randy Bennett coach team, as it was the first time this season that the Gaels held an opponent under 50. Dating back to last season, the Gaels have now won 13 straight contests at home.
It was a brute showing of force from the Gaels in half one, with Saint Mary's, after falling behind 5-4, went on an 11-0 run, one of three double-digit scoring runs in the first half, to take an incredible 30 point lead into the halftime break. Driving each an every one of those runs was the stellar play of Mikey Lewis, who scored 18 of the Gaels 47 first half points, doing it on the outside, with a pair of made threes, on the interior, with three makes inside the arc, and from the stripe, shooting at a perfect 6-6 clip. While the margin of lead at the half was impressive, possibly even more impressive was the Gaels 33-8 advantage on the boards, with Harry Wessels leading the charge off the bench with seven, and Paulius Murauskas and Andrew McKeever each chipping in six. This helped the Gaels to a 14-0 second chance scoring advantage in the frame.
North Texas came out of the gates on a 12-6 run to open half number two, but the Gaels quickly righted the ship with an 11-0 run of their own to boost their lead to 35 points with 12:40 to play. The Mean Green never got within 30 points of the Gaels from that point on, as while the offense cooled off a bit in the second half, the physical tenacity continued from the Gaels as they salted away the 31 point victory, their largest margin of victory this season. Paulius Murauskas carried the team across the finish line , scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while ripping down five more rebounds.
For the third time in four contests this year, Mikey Lewis surpassed the 20 point threshold, scoring 23 on 50% shooting from the field and from three, while remaining perfect from the stripe. Paulius Murauskas logged his first double-double of 2025-26 after leading the WCC with 13 a season ago, going for 15 points and 11 boards. The next closest player to a double-double was point guard Joshua Dent, who scored 10 while dishing out seven dimes (one turnover), a new career-high. Rounding out the double-digit scoring efforts was Dillan Shaw, who reached double figures for the first time in his career, also scoring 10.
THE BARRAGE CONTINUES
To start the 2025-26 campaign, Saint Mary's is hitting offensive benchmarks never seen before inside UCU Pavilion. That is because the last time the Gaels opened a season with four straight 80+ point scoring contests was all the way back in the 1977-78 campaign, the final year that the Gaels played inside Madigan Gymnasium. While it isn't as drastically far back, it still had been a while since the Gaels had scored 80+ in four consecutive games, as you'd have to go all the way back to the 2018-19 season, when the Gaels went 4-0 against Cal, Bethune-Cookman, New Mexican and Cal State Fullerton for the the last they scored 80+ in four straight games at any point in a season.
BACK TO THEIR OLD WAYS
Tonight's rendition of Gaels Basketball looked a bit more reminiscent of squads in recent history for two clear reasons; stymying defense and rebounding domination. Due to suffocating defense, North Texas connected on fewer than 10 field goals in both the first and second half, and did not have a single player shoot better than 50% from the field. The Mean Green were held to 23.4% shooting from the field and just 49 points, their lowest tallies since 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. In fact, the last time North Texas shot sub-30% in a game was also inside UCU Pavilion against the Gaels nearly three years ago to the day (Nov. 13, 2022). As for rebounding, the Gaels finished +31 on the glass in a category they led the country in a year ago. Despite leading the nation in that stat last year, the Gaels did not have a single game in which the had an at least +30 rebound margin. The last time Saint Mary's accomplished this feat was in the season opener of the 2023-24 season, when they finished +37 on the board over Stanislaus State. Paulius Murauskas led the way with 11 boards for the Gaels, while Andrew McKeever and Harry Wessels each ripped down nine while splitting time at the center position.
COACHES CORNER
UP NEXT
The Gaels will next welcome another team who found their way into the 2025 NIT, as Arkansas State will make their way to Moraga on November 19. Tip off for Wednesday night is set for 7 PM.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
It was a brute showing of force from the Gaels in half one, with Saint Mary's, after falling behind 5-4, went on an 11-0 run, one of three double-digit scoring runs in the first half, to take an incredible 30 point lead into the halftime break. Driving each an every one of those runs was the stellar play of Mikey Lewis, who scored 18 of the Gaels 47 first half points, doing it on the outside, with a pair of made threes, on the interior, with three makes inside the arc, and from the stripe, shooting at a perfect 6-6 clip. While the margin of lead at the half was impressive, possibly even more impressive was the Gaels 33-8 advantage on the boards, with Harry Wessels leading the charge off the bench with seven, and Paulius Murauskas and Andrew McKeever each chipping in six. This helped the Gaels to a 14-0 second chance scoring advantage in the frame.
Mikey Lewis gets things started with a lil' jumper 😮💨#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/SG93pGcAaz
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) November 15, 2025
THE GAELS SEND THE MEAN GREEN TO TIMEOUT 😤#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/uLObnih4rE
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) November 15, 2025
North Texas came out of the gates on a 12-6 run to open half number two, but the Gaels quickly righted the ship with an 11-0 run of their own to boost their lead to 35 points with 12:40 to play. The Mean Green never got within 30 points of the Gaels from that point on, as while the offense cooled off a bit in the second half, the physical tenacity continued from the Gaels as they salted away the 31 point victory, their largest margin of victory this season. Paulius Murauskas carried the team across the finish line , scoring 13 of his 15 points in the second half, while ripping down five more rebounds.
For the third time in four contests this year, Mikey Lewis surpassed the 20 point threshold, scoring 23 on 50% shooting from the field and from three, while remaining perfect from the stripe. Paulius Murauskas logged his first double-double of 2025-26 after leading the WCC with 13 a season ago, going for 15 points and 11 boards. The next closest player to a double-double was point guard Joshua Dent, who scored 10 while dishing out seven dimes (one turnover), a new career-high. Rounding out the double-digit scoring efforts was Dillan Shaw, who reached double figures for the first time in his career, also scoring 10.
Paulius Murauskas wastes no time in the second half 💪#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/9dZm5vgkX3
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) November 15, 2025
Paulius Murauskas throws DOWN with a little help from Cade Bennett 😤#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/ah8SNu9qDA
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) November 15, 2025
THE BARRAGE CONTINUES
To start the 2025-26 campaign, Saint Mary's is hitting offensive benchmarks never seen before inside UCU Pavilion. That is because the last time the Gaels opened a season with four straight 80+ point scoring contests was all the way back in the 1977-78 campaign, the final year that the Gaels played inside Madigan Gymnasium. While it isn't as drastically far back, it still had been a while since the Gaels had scored 80+ in four consecutive games, as you'd have to go all the way back to the 2018-19 season, when the Gaels went 4-0 against Cal, Bethune-Cookman, New Mexican and Cal State Fullerton for the the last they scored 80+ in four straight games at any point in a season.
BACK TO THEIR OLD WAYS
Tonight's rendition of Gaels Basketball looked a bit more reminiscent of squads in recent history for two clear reasons; stymying defense and rebounding domination. Due to suffocating defense, North Texas connected on fewer than 10 field goals in both the first and second half, and did not have a single player shoot better than 50% from the field. The Mean Green were held to 23.4% shooting from the field and just 49 points, their lowest tallies since 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. In fact, the last time North Texas shot sub-30% in a game was also inside UCU Pavilion against the Gaels nearly three years ago to the day (Nov. 13, 2022). As for rebounding, the Gaels finished +31 on the glass in a category they led the country in a year ago. Despite leading the nation in that stat last year, the Gaels did not have a single game in which the had an at least +30 rebound margin. The last time Saint Mary's accomplished this feat was in the season opener of the 2023-24 season, when they finished +37 on the board over Stanislaus State. Paulius Murauskas led the way with 11 boards for the Gaels, while Andrew McKeever and Harry Wessels each ripped down nine while splitting time at the center position.
COACHES CORNER
UP NEXT
The Gaels will next welcome another team who found their way into the 2025 NIT, as Arkansas State will make their way to Moraga on November 19. Tip off for Wednesday night is set for 7 PM.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
UNT
SMC
FG%
.238
.443
3FG%
.304
.391
FT%
.857
.810
RB
27
58
TO
8
15
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Pts
23
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballMBB | Highlights vs. North Texas, 11-14-2025
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