MORAGA, Calif. – The Santa Clara Broncos (17-10, 9-5) gave the Saint Mary's Gaels (22-4, 12-1) all they could handle on Tuesday evening Moraga, but for the second time this season, and eighth time in a row, the Gaels finished the night victorious, this time by a 73-64 margin. Santa Clara only led for 1:05 of this one, but never truly allowed the Gaels to pull away. Tied up at 58 with 5:38 to go, Saint Mary's went on a 15-4 run to trounce any hopes of a Bronco upset. Saint Mary's extends their lead in the conference by two full games, and remains unbeaten at home in conference play.
Saint Mary's led for nearly 15 minutes of the opening half, but Santa Clara was able to keep things tight throughout the frame. A 9-0 Gael run would give them their largest lead at 20-12, but the Broncos responded with a nice 16-9 stretch of their own to cut the deficit to just one with 2:23 remaining in the half. Augustas Marciulionis then put the Gaels on his back and carried them to the halftime buzzer, scoring the final eight points of the half, as they took a 37-30 lead into the intermission. Marciulionis led the Gaels with 13 points, two assists and two steals in the opening stanza, while Mitchell Saxen scored eight and ripped down a team-high four rebounds (three offensive). Harry Wessels continued his recent defensive dominance with two massive first half swats.
After four quick Bronco points cut the deficit to three in the first minutes of the second half, the Gaels would again resurge, utilizing a 9-2 run to take their first double digit lead at 46-36 with 17 minutes remaining. Again, Santa Clara countered with a 16-7 stretch to cut the deficit down near the halfway mark of the second half. The Gael lead buoyed between one and two possessions over the next four minutes, until back to back SCU layups knotted things up at 58-58. On the ensuing possession, Luke Barrett drained a three to curtail the Bronco momentum, sparking a 15-4 run that would ice the game in favor of the Gaels. Augustus Marciulionis continued to be the unsung offensive hero for the Gaels with 11 second half points, four assists (no turnovers) and a steal. Luke Barrett added nine and a steal in the second half, while Mitchell Saxen ripped down four more rebounds. Neither Barrett nor Saxen left the floor in the second half. Harry Wessels continued to protect the rim with two more rejections in the second frame.
For the third straight contest, Augustas Marciulionis led all Gael scorers with 24 points. He also added a team-high six assists and four steals. Luke Barrett joined Marciulionis in double-figures with 13 points and six rebounds, while Harry Wessels chipped in 11 points and four blocks. Mitchell Saxen played his highest minute total in a conference game this year, finishing with eight points and a team-high eight boards. This was the Gaels eighth time shooting 50% or better from the field in a game this year, and their third time doing so in consecutive games. Saint Mary's also reached the 70 point mark for the first time in two and a half weeks. When they score 70 points, the Gaels are a perfect 19-0 this season.
GOOSE STAYS HOT
For the third straight game, Augustas Marciulionis led all Saint Mary's scorers, tonight dropping 24 on 8-11 shooting (2-3 from three), while adding six assists and three steals. This comes on the back of a week in which Mariulionis went for 20 points, seven assists and four steals at San Francisco and 18 points, six rebounds, 10 assists and four steals at Oregon State. Over this three game heater, the defending WCC Player of the Year has averaged 20.7 points per game, shooting 45.1% from the field, while averaging 7.7 assists per game, 3.7 steals per contest and only 1.7 turnovers per game. Tonight also marked a few milestones for Marciulionis; he scored his 1100th point as a Gael, as well as his 450th career assists, while moving to sixth all-time in program history with his 135th steal. The Vilnius, Lithuania native is making a strong case to be the first back-to-back WCC Player of the Year for Saint Mary's since Steve Gray did it in 1962 and 1962.
FULL FORTY LUKE
For the eighth time this season, Luke Barrett spent at least 40 minutes on the court, not exiting throughout the entirety of tonight's contest. The fifth year redshirt senior not only was on the court for the entirety of the game, but also hit some of its biggest shots. Following the Broncos bucket to knot things up at 58 apiece, Barrett drained a three on the ensuing possession, followed by a layup to push the Gaels back up by two possessions. This sparked the 15-4 run that all but secured the victory for SMC. After a stretch of three straight games in which Barrett was held below double digit scoring, he seems to be back on track offensively, with his 13th game scoring double figures this season.
NOT IN MY HOUSE!
Harry Wessels continues to be the ultimate rim protector for the Gaels. After blocking a potential game-tying shot from Gonzaga two weeks ago, Wessels has racked up a half dozen more blocks over the last two contests, including a career-high four tonight. On top of his recent defensive production, Wessels has also averaged 11.5 points per game over the last two contests as well.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will next host Washington State on Saturday, February 15. Tip off will be at 7 PM and the game will honor the Lithuanian presence within the Saint Mary's Men's Basketball program. Come out to UCU Pavilion to support your Gaels or catch the game live on ESPNU.
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