Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
MBB | Facts and Figures: Post Santa Clara and Pre Washington State
2/14/2025 1:44:00 PM | Men's Basketball
A look back at the Gaels' win over Santa Clara on Tuesday and a look ahead to Saturday night's game against Washington State:
With less than six minutes remaining in the Santa Clara-Saint Mary's matchup in Moraga on Tuesday night, the Broncos' Carlos Stewart Jr. fed Johnny O'Neil for an inside bucket that made the score 58-58.
On the ensuing possession, the Gaels worked the ball to forward Luke Barrett, who was open on the left side beyond the arc. At that point, Barrett was 0-for-2 on 3-point tries in the game and 4-for-17 from long range since he had twisted his ankle in SMC's 71-51 rout of USF on Jan. 25.
Without any hesitation, Barrett drilled the trey. After the game, the senior from Piedmont credited his "coaches and teammates' relentless ability to build confidence in me" to enable him to hit that go-ahead 3-pointer. "I had a stretch there where I wasn't confident enough. I wasn't stepping into those shots and shooting it free every time."
On the Gaels' next possession, Barrett again had the ball on the left side beyond the arc. This time, he dribbled down the lane, knifed between two defenders and finished a layup to put the Gaels on top by five.
"Those were big shots," SMC head coach Randy Bennett said. "Those were two huge shots."
That sparked a 9-0 run and Santa Clara got no closer than five the rest of the way as the Gaels prevailed 73-64. Barrett, who had scored a combined 16 points over the previous three games, finished with 13 against the Broncos. He made all five of his 2-point attempts.
"You've got to just make a mental switch in your head and just tell yourself going into the game that you've put all the work in, the money's in the bank and you have to be on your front foot," Barrett said, "and that's our motto this year, 'On Your Front Foot.'
"Yeah, there were a couple of games there where I was called out for not really being on my front foot. So, you've just got to trust that however your shot's feeling the last couple of games, you've got to be able to just let it rip."
For the season, Barrett is averaging 10 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He leads the WCC in minutes per game at 36.5.
Marciulionis the scorer: Throughout his four seasons with the Gaels, Augustas Marciulionis typically has played the role of a pass-first point guard – and played that role quite well.
Over the past three games, though, he has looked for his shot much more often. He poured in game highs of 20 points in a 65-64 loss at USF on Feb. 6, 18 in a 63-49 romp at Oregon State last Saturday night and 24 in Tuesday's win over Santa Clara.
"I think it's just his way of being a great leader," Barrett said of Marciulionis. "If he needs to take over, he can take over."
And in the past two games, Marciulionis not only has scored at a high rate, he has done so rather efficiently. He's a combined 15-for-20 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. In the first half in Corvallis, Marciulionis had 16 points as he went 6-for-7 from the field.
"I had a moment when he was going on that tear in the first half where I was thinking, 'This is the best player I've ever played with,' and that's what he's playing like right now," Barrett said.
Marciulionis was named the WCC Player of the Year last season when he averaged 12.4 points and 5.3 assists per game. He's averaging 14.2 and 6.0 this season.
Tough stretch: The Gaels' rematch with Washington State on Saturday night will conclude an eight-game stretch in which they will have played USF, Santa Clara and WSU twice each and Gonzaga and Oregon State once apiece.
"We've never had a tougher stretch in my 24 years," Bennett said.
Saint Mary's (22-4, 12-1) has won six of the seven games, including an 80-75 victory in Pullman on Jan. 25 when Paulius Murauskas scored 25 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Cougars (16-10, 6-7) had lost five in a row before they edged Pepperdine 87-86 last Saturday. Nate Calmese led WSU with 16 points and fellow guard Isaiah Watts had 15, including four 3-pointers. Watts missed the game against the Gaels because of an injury to his left hand.
NOTE: Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly for KPIX-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle. He has begun working alongside Brian Brownfield on the Gaels' men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.
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