Saturday, February 15
Moraga, CA
7:00 PM
Saint Mary's College of California
23-4,13-1WCC
77
vs
56
Washington State
16-11,6-8WCC
1
2
F
Washington St.
34
22
56
Saint Mary's (CA)
38
39
77
Paulius Murauskas: 30 pts (12-19 FG) 10 reb (10th Double-Double)
Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner
MBB | Lithuanians Shine on Inaugural Lithuania Night, Gaels Down Cougs 77-56
2/15/2025 11:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball
MORAGA, Calif. — Tonight, Saint Mary's Basketball (23-4, 13-1 WCC) honored their connection with the country of Lithuania, their two student-athletes Augustas Marciulionis and Paulius Murauskas and their Graduate Assistant Taut Tubelis, with an inaugural Lithuania Night. Murauskas and Marciulionis returned the favor by leading the Gaels to a 77-56 victory over the Washington State Cougars (16-11, 6-8 WCC). The Gaels now move to 20-0 when scoring 70+ points in the game and continue to hold a two game lead on first place in the conference.
It was a slow start for the Gaels, who fell behind 10-3 in the early going, but, with Paulius Murauskas shouldering the load, Saint Mary's turned the seven point deficit into a nine point lead with a 25-9 run. Murauskas scored 13 of those 25 points. Washington State re-found their footing to level things at 34 apiece, but the Gaels closed out the half with two more Paulius Murauskas layups to take a four point lead into the break. In total Murauskas scored 20 points, a new high in a single half for the Lithuania native on Lithuania Night in Moraga. Murauskas and Harry Wessels tied for the team lead with five boards apiece, each with more offensive rebounds than defensive. That trend was true for Saint Mary's as an entire team, who had 10 o-boards to just seven defensive rebounds. That led to a 12-5 advantage in second chance scoring.
The Gaels turned their 4-0 spurt in the first half into a 20-2 run overall, expanding their lead to 18 points at the 15:15 mark of the first half. By the midway point of the second half, the Gaels had outscored the Cougs 30-14 in the frame, expanding their lead out to 20. Washington State went on their game best 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 12, but that was as close as it would be over the final 10 minutes, as an Augustas Marciulionis three with 90 seconds left gave the Gaels the 21 point lead they would finish the evening with. Marciulionis led the Gaels with 12 second half points on 4-5 shooting, while adding four dimes and two steals. Paulius Murauskas added 10 more to his impressive total, while ripping down five rebounds. After seeing Washington State matched SMC's intensity in the paint in the first half, the Gaels outscored the Cougs 24-12 in the paint in the second stanza. With so much production in close, the Gaels shot 54% from the field in the second half, while limiting WSU to 30%.
In what's been an incredible season already for Paulius Murauskas, he put together the best game of his career, with 30 points on 12-19 shooting and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. His countryman, Augustas Marciulionis chipped in 16, seven assists and four steals, continuing to stuff the stat sheet for the Gaels. Jordan Ross was the third and final Gael in double-figures with 12 and three steals. Saint Mary's logged a season-best eight blocks, with three belonging to Ashton Hardaway and two to Harry Wessels.
NO ANSWERS FOR MURAUSKAS
For the second time in his Gael career, Paulius Murauskas had not problem scoring against Washington State. After dropping 25 points and 12 rebounds at Beasley Coliseum three weeks ago for his ninth double-double on the season, the Kaunas, Lithuania native upped the ante with a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the year. In two games vs the Cougs this season, Murauskas has averaged 27.5 PPG and 11.0 RPG. His 30 points tonight made him the first Gael since Logan Johnson (2/11/23 at Portland) to score 30 in a single game, as he surpassed his previous high of 29 scored against Utah (12/7/24).
PADDING THE DEFENSIVE STATS
Saint Mary's had a season-high eight blocks tonight, and finished one of their season-high for steals, with 11. The eight blocks were the most by a Gaels team since the opener last season against Stanislaus State, while the 11 steals mark the Gaels fifth double-digit steals game this year. Leading the blocking front were a pair of key reserves, Ashton Hardaway and Harry Wessels. Hardaway logged a career-high three, while Wessels logged a pair, giving him 10 rejections in the last five games. Augustas Marciulionis played the lead pick-pocket role this evening, tying his career-high with four steals, giving him 15 over his last four games, while Jordan Ross took away a career-high three and Mitchell Saxen snagged two. The 11 steals helped the Gaels outscore the Cougs 22-7 off of turnovers (SMC only tuned the ball over six times) and 18-7 in fast break points.
THE MOST WINS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2025
With tonight's win, Saint Mary's now has notched 23 victories on the year. They join the likes of Drake (23-2), Auburn (23-2), Utah State (23-3) and High Point (23-5) for most wins thus far in the college basketball season.
POSTGAME CHATS
UP NEXT
The Gaels will host Portland on Wednesday, February 19. Tip-off is set for 7 PM. Come out and support the Gaels or tune in live on ESPN+.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
It was a slow start for the Gaels, who fell behind 10-3 in the early going, but, with Paulius Murauskas shouldering the load, Saint Mary's turned the seven point deficit into a nine point lead with a 25-9 run. Murauskas scored 13 of those 25 points. Washington State re-found their footing to level things at 34 apiece, but the Gaels closed out the half with two more Paulius Murauskas layups to take a four point lead into the break. In total Murauskas scored 20 points, a new high in a single half for the Lithuania native on Lithuania Night in Moraga. Murauskas and Harry Wessels tied for the team lead with five boards apiece, each with more offensive rebounds than defensive. That trend was true for Saint Mary's as an entire team, who had 10 o-boards to just seven defensive rebounds. That led to a 12-5 advantage in second chance scoring.
Starting Lithuania Night off with a BANG 💥#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/6AnR6Gv8U9
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
PAULIUS FOR 3⃣‼️#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/NTsWliY9l8
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
This is Paulius' world and we're all just living in it 🤩#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/RN2sKCTh0T
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
PAULIUS ARE YOU KIDDING?
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
This basket breaks his season-high for points in a half, with TWENTY!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/B8s33rpj8g
The Gaels turned their 4-0 spurt in the first half into a 20-2 run overall, expanding their lead to 18 points at the 15:15 mark of the first half. By the midway point of the second half, the Gaels had outscored the Cougs 30-14 in the frame, expanding their lead out to 20. Washington State went on their game best 8-0 run to cut the deficit to 12, but that was as close as it would be over the final 10 minutes, as an Augustas Marciulionis three with 90 seconds left gave the Gaels the 21 point lead they would finish the evening with. Marciulionis led the Gaels with 12 second half points on 4-5 shooting, while adding four dimes and two steals. Paulius Murauskas added 10 more to his impressive total, while ripping down five rebounds. After seeing Washington State matched SMC's intensity in the paint in the first half, the Gaels outscored the Cougs 24-12 in the paint in the second stanza. With so much production in close, the Gaels shot 54% from the field in the second half, while limiting WSU to 30%.
Goose with the AND-1 ‼️#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/UiC8dcKdY7
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
AND ON LITHUANIA NIGHT, NO LESS 🇱🇹 🤩#GaelsRise #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/XFaIQM0wEQ
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
Paulius CANNOT be stopped ❌#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/YgFpoXQBrQ
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
Goose with his own Swipe-and-Score 🥳#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/7av3UktRU3
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
Have yourself a night, Paulius!
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
This basket marks the first time a Gael has scored 3⃣0⃣ points in a game since Logan Johnson (2023) !#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/w4DuxqzFcT
Had him touching EARTH 🌎#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/0VG0Io5DrU
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
In what's been an incredible season already for Paulius Murauskas, he put together the best game of his career, with 30 points on 12-19 shooting and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season. His countryman, Augustas Marciulionis chipped in 16, seven assists and four steals, continuing to stuff the stat sheet for the Gaels. Jordan Ross was the third and final Gael in double-figures with 12 and three steals. Saint Mary's logged a season-best eight blocks, with three belonging to Ashton Hardaway and two to Harry Wessels.
NO ANSWERS FOR MURAUSKAS
For the second time in his Gael career, Paulius Murauskas had not problem scoring against Washington State. After dropping 25 points and 12 rebounds at Beasley Coliseum three weeks ago for his ninth double-double on the season, the Kaunas, Lithuania native upped the ante with a career-high 30 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the year. In two games vs the Cougs this season, Murauskas has averaged 27.5 PPG and 11.0 RPG. His 30 points tonight made him the first Gael since Logan Johnson (2/11/23 at Portland) to score 30 in a single game, as he surpassed his previous high of 29 scored against Utah (12/7/24).
PADDING THE DEFENSIVE STATS
Saint Mary's had a season-high eight blocks tonight, and finished one of their season-high for steals, with 11. The eight blocks were the most by a Gaels team since the opener last season against Stanislaus State, while the 11 steals mark the Gaels fifth double-digit steals game this year. Leading the blocking front were a pair of key reserves, Ashton Hardaway and Harry Wessels. Hardaway logged a career-high three, while Wessels logged a pair, giving him 10 rejections in the last five games. Augustas Marciulionis played the lead pick-pocket role this evening, tying his career-high with four steals, giving him 15 over his last four games, while Jordan Ross took away a career-high three and Mitchell Saxen snagged two. The 11 steals helped the Gaels outscore the Cougs 22-7 off of turnovers (SMC only tuned the ball over six times) and 18-7 in fast break points.
INCOMING MITCH PART 2#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/RYAiwPTq7m
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
Hardaway says Not Today 🚫#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/sM8cPyiWBr
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
A Solo Swipe-and-Score for J-Ross!#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/UOl2CudYUj
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
Big Blocks for the Big Man#GaelsRise pic.twitter.com/fFwfz6lQNa
— Saint Mary's Hoops (@saintmaryshoops) February 16, 2025
THE MOST WINS IN COLLEGE BASKETBALL 2025
With tonight's win, Saint Mary's now has notched 23 victories on the year. They join the likes of Drake (23-2), Auburn (23-2), Utah State (23-3) and High Point (23-5) for most wins thus far in the college basketball season.
POSTGAME CHATS
UP NEXT
The Gaels will host Portland on Wednesday, February 19. Tip-off is set for 7 PM. Come out and support the Gaels or tune in live on ESPN+.
DON'T MISS OUT ON HOME MEN'S BASKETBALL ACTION. TICKETS ARE ON SALE HERE.
#GaelsRise
Team Stats
WSU
SMC
FG%
.407
.460
3FG%
.400
.208
FT%
.667
.824
RB
34
34
TO
16
6
STL
2
11
Game Leaders
Pts
30
FGM
12
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
5
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's BasketballC
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