CORVALLIS, Ore. — Coming off of their first loss of the calendar year, the Saint Mary's Gaels (21-4, 11-1 WCC) wasted no time returning to their winning ways, with a 63-49 thrashing of Oregon State (17-8, 7-5 WCC). The Gaels held the Beavers to their lowest scoring total of the season, and handed them just their second loss on their home floor this season, and their first since November.
Oregon State came out of the gates hot, connecting on each of their first two field goal attempts to take an early 4-0 lead before the Gaels put the clamps on defensively, limiting the Beavers to just 5-26 shooting from the field for the remainder of the half. Meanwhile, the Gaels were able to take their first lead at 5-4 on a couple of Augustas Marciulionis buckets, eventually closing out the half on a 30-13 run. Scoring the first five points of the half for the Gaels, Marciulionis rode that wave to 16 first half points on 6-7 shooting from the field, while dishing out two assists and a steal. Mitchell Saxen added six points on 3-4 shooting, with three rebounds and a block. 18 of the Gaels 30 were scored in the paint, as they used their size to physically dominate the interior on both sides of the basketball.
The Gaels were quick to extend their 30-19 halftime lead to 15 with four quick points from Saxen, and never let the Beavers get closer than back to the initial halftime deficit of 11. Saint Mary's would twice lead by as many as 21, eventually earning the 14 point victory 63-49. 18 more points were chipped in for the Gaels from the paint, while Saint Mary's turned five OSU turnovers into 10 more points en route to the dominant victory. Mikey Lewis and Mitchell Saxen each scored nine in the second half of action, Saxen going 3-4 from the field and Lewis going 3-4 from three. Harry Wessels added eight including a pair of highlight reel dunks, and Augustas Marciulionis changed roles from scorer to playmaker with eight second half assists.
Augustas Marciulionis stuffed the stat sheet for the Gaels with 18 points, six rebounds, ten assists and four steals. In the first half, it was all about the scoring ability of Marciulionis, when he scored 16, while in second, he was limited to two, but dropped eight dimes en route to his second double-double of the season. Mitchell Saxen added 15 points on an efficient 6-8 from the field, and a team high seven rebounds. Harry Wessels rounded out the group of double-digit scorers with 12, and was one of three Gaels with two blocks (Saxen and Luke Barrett). Defensively, the Gaels tied their season-high with seven blocks, as they held their fourth opponent this season under 50 points.
TWO DIFFERENT HALVES, SAME GREAT RESULT FOR GOOSE
Augustas Marciulionis played two very different roles in the two halves of this game. In half number one, he was the offensive spark that allowed the Gaels to erase an early 4-0 deficit and turn it into a double digit lead, scoring 16 points on 6-7 shooting and 2-3 shooting from three. In the second, Goose quickly changed from scoring guard to true point guard. After just two assists in the first half, Marciulionis racked up eight assists, feeding the Gaels big men first before later finding his fellow guard on the perimeter. This lead to his first double-double in conference play and his second of the season. He also added six rebounds and four assists, coming four rebounds shy of the Gaels first triple-double in program history.
BLOCK PARTY IN CORVALLIS
Saint Mary's tied a season-high with seven blocks, each of which were emphatic and decisive, demoralizing the Beavs in the paint, and holding them to a season-low 49 points. Harry Wessels, Mitchell Saxen and Luke Barrett all had two massive swats, while Paulius Murauskas had one rejection in the first half. The last time the Gaels had more than seven blocks in a game came in their season opener last year against Stanislaus State.
UP NEXT
The Gaels will yet again have a quick turnaround, returning home to host Santa Clara on Tuesday, February 11 at 8 PM. Come out to UCU Pavilion to support your Gaels or tune in live on ESPN2.
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