Kroner's Corner Season 2: Hoops in Paradise! Who Could Ask for More?

Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom

Kroner's Corner Season 2: Hoops in Paradise! Who Could Ask for More?

11/25/2025 4:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

They scored at least 80 points in all six games of their three-week, season-opening homestand.

Their average rebounding margin was nearly plus-16 per game. They shot 50 percent from the floor, including 45.7 percent from beyond the arc, and held their opponents to 35.8 and 27.3, respectively.

Yes, the Saint Mary's Gaels looked dominant in sweeping those half-dozen games, all of which -- except Saturday night's 96-42 waltz over Division II UC Merced -- came against solid mid-major teams.

The Gaels now embark on a five-game, three-week stretch away from UCU Pavilion. Saint Mary's first heads to the Bahamas for the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. The Gaels will play three games in three days, beginning with a matchup against Wichita State (4-1) on Wednesday.

After an 85-72 win over Arkansas State last Wednesday night, Saint Mary's guard Mikey Lewis said the games outside of Moraga will prove "how mature we are," adding that the Gaels are "going to an obviously really fun place, but it's a business trip at the end of the day."

Saint Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said, "What I want to see is just improvement. … We have a lot of good young players and we're still trying to get them (to) fit in."

One of those good young players is sophomore Joshua Dent. The Australian played sparingly last season, and he has the added pressure of replacing two-time WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis as the Gaels' starting point guard.

So far, so very good. Dent is averaging 11.7 points per game and has dished out 33 assists and committed a mere seven turnovers.

"Dent's done a remarkable job of taking care of the ball," Bennett said. "His numbers for a sophomore point guard, he's way ahead of Augustas, way ahead. …

"He's actually doing a good job defensively. He's done a really good job there. I didn't know that he was going to be able to do that right away."

Lewis was named the WCC Sixth Man of the Year last season, so a lot was expected from him – and he has delivered. He's leading the Gaels in points per game at 19.7 and has shown improvement across the board.

Last season, when his main role was as a 3-point shooter, Lewis hit on 40.2 percent from the field, including 37.4 percent from beyond the arc, and 72.4 percent at the foul line. This season, he has upped those numbers to 49.4, 54.3 and 95.8 (23-for-24).

"I don't have to force shots", Lewis said. "I know (the ball) is going to come back to me at some point."

He said he realized "just trying to get up good shots through the flow of the game would be better for not only myself – because I'm finding more high-percentage shots for myself –but for the team, too."

Lewis averaged 1.7 rebounds last season and has grabbed 3.7 per game in November. He has 25 assists this season, four more than he collected all of last season.

Junior forward Paulius Murauskas (18.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and redshirt sophomore center Andrew McKeever (8.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg) have supplied scoring and rebounding in the front court.

McKeever, the 7-foot-3 ambidextrous alum of Livermore's Granada High, put together quite a performance against the Red Wolves: 16 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocked shots.

"He fills up a lot of holes for us," Lewis said of McKeever. "He has a really good feel for the game. … If you just watch him pass out of the post, he's really good at that."

That victory over Arkansas State was the lone game on the homestand in which the outcome was still in doubt midway through the second half. That also was the lone game in which Bennett relied heavily on five players; Dent, Lewis, Murauskas, McKeever and redshirt freshman swingman Liam Campbell each played at least 32 minutes.

None of the four other Gaels who got into the game – swingmen Kevin Gad and Dillan Shaw, guard Rory Hawke and center Harry Wessels – played more than eight minutes.

Bennett was asked if that's how he envisions the typical playing-time allotment as the season progresses.

"I hope not," he said. "Some guys didn't get a chance who usually get a chance, but if the game is closer, your substitution rotation gets shorter. That's how it works. …

"I just told our guys, 'That's the first time we had to deal with it this year. The way you can fix it is in practice. Practice well and you'll get an opportunity.'"

With three games in three days this week, Bennett almost assuredly will make more extensive use of his bench in the Bahamas.

Notes: Wichita State's lone loss came in a 62-59 decision at Boise State on Nov. 18. The Shockers are led by 5-foot-10 guard Kenyon Giles, a transfer from UNC Greensboro who's averaging 19.6 points per game. He's hitting 56.1 percent from the floor, including 58.8 percent from long range. … On Thursday, Saint Mary's will face either Colorado State or Virginia Tech. There are four possible opponents for the Gaels on Friday: Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt, VCU or South Florida. … Dent has been perfect on his 22 free-throw attempts this season. Lewis connected on his first 21 tries from the line this season before missing one in the win over Arkansas State.

Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is in his second season working as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC's men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.