LAS VEGAS — The Saint Mary's Gaels (28-4) moved one step closer to their second consecutive Credit Union One WCC Championship Title with a 74-59 victory in tonight's semi final matchup with the Pepperdine Waves (13-22). The Waves rolled into this one with the momentum of three wins in three nights, making them the first nine seed to play in a WCC Semifinal since LMU in 2013, and hung tight with the Gaels for the first half, but a combination of stellar defense and ferocious rebounding at the start of the second helped the Gaels pull away in this one. Saint Mary's now advances to their fourth consecutive WCC Title match, as they will await the winner of San Francisco and Gonzaga, playing later this evening.
The Gaels jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in this one, but Pepperdine responded with a 12-4 run of their own to take their first multi-possession just 6:21 into the game. The lead for the Waves got as big as five points at 18-13 following a pair of Moe Odum threes, but Saint Mary's would counter with a 17-3 run, taking a lead in that stretch that they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. The Gael lead would balloon as big as 13 in the first half, before settling at 10 going into the break, 39-29. After combining for 50 of the Gaels 74 points nine days ago against Oregon State in the regular season finale, the senior trio of Augustas Marciulionis, Luke Barrett and Mitchell Saxen once again led the offensive front for the Gaels in the first half. The trio each recorded nine points, accounting for 27 of the Gaels 39. Barrett added a team-high seven first half rebounds, while Saxen had a pair of first half rejections. In signature Gael form, Saint Mary's finished +13 on the glass, +10 in the paint and +7 in second chance scoring, while limiting themselves to just two first half turnovers.
Pepperdine got back within single digits in the first 2:10 of the second half, but a quick 7-0 run, with five coming from Paulius Murauskas, would put the Gaels well on the front foot for the remainder of the contest. In total, the Gaels would outscore the Waves 29-11 over the first 12:21 of the second frame to extend their lead all the way out to 28 before Head Coach Randy Bennett began to get some of his key players off the court and rested for tomorrow's title game. As the clock wound down, the Gaels would salt away the victory with the final tally sitting at 74-59. Paulius Murauskas came to life in the second half, with 10 points and six rebounds, not missing from the field. His countryman, Marciulionis, filled up the stat sheet with six points, four boards and four assists with no turnovers in the second half. The Gaels continued to dominate on the boards outrebounding Pepperdine by 10 in the second half.
In his WCC Tournament debut, Paulius Murauskas led the Gaels with a 15 point, 10 rebound double-double, good for his 13th on the year. Murauskas missed one perimeter jumper, but was a perfect 5-5 inside the arc, while also knocking down four free throws. Augustas Marciulionis did a bit of everything for the Gaels, also scoring 15, while adding a season-high tying seven rebounds five assists, and two steals, while not turning the ball over once. It was the fourth time this season that he has logged at least five assists and no turnovers in a game. Rounding out the group of double digit scorers was Luke Barrett. The fifth year senior scored 13 for his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring outing against the Waves dating back to last season. The Gaels scored 46 of their 74 points in the paint, and outrebounded the Waves by 23 for the game, including a +8 offensive rebounding margin, leading to a +12 second chance scoring advantage.
REBOUNDS = WINS
Coming into tonight's game, the Gaels ranked #1 in the country with a +10.2 rebound margin, but against the Waves, the Gaels more than doubled that, with the rebound tally finishing at 45-22. It was just the sixth time this season that the Gaels have finished at least +20 on the glass. Paulius Murauskas led the way with 10 boards, as the sophomore continues to lead the conference in rebounding. Luke Barrett and Mitchell Saxen each ripped down eight, while Augustas Marciulionis tallied a season-high tying seven. The Gaels have now outrebounded 25 of 32 opponents this season, and are 24-1 when accomplishing that feat.
LUKE BARRETT: THE WAVE SHREDDER
Over his past four matchups with Pepperdine dating back to last season, Luke Barrett has dominated to the tune of 14.3 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 61.5% (24-39) from the field. Over the last three, Barrett has also drawn the assignment of one of the conference's best scorers, Stefan Todorovic, and has done an incredible job against him, limiting the 18.5 PPG scorer to just 12 points per game against SMC and holding him to a 31.8% field goal clip.
FOR THE FOURTH YEAR IN A ROW…
…and sixth time in the last seven years, Saint Mary's will head to the WCC Title game. The Gaels will now attempt to win back-to-back WCC tournament titles for the second consecutive year. Their opponent will either be Gonzaga, the team that they have faced off with in the title game in each of the past four years, or San Francisco, the only WCC team to beat them this year. Tip-off is set for 6 PM in that one. Can't make it out to Las Vegas? Tune in live on ESPN.
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