Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
Facts and Figures: Post Vanderbilt and Pre Alabama
3/22/2025 9:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Steve Kroner
CLEVELAND – With 16 minutes left in its NCAA Tournament opener Friday, Saint Mary's trailed Vanderbilt 39-27 and point guard Augustas Marciulionis, the two-time WCC Player of the Year, had just gone to the bench after picking up his fourth foul.
Somehow, the Gaels turned that bleak situation into a memorable one, as they rallied for a 59-56 win. So, forward Luke Barrett was asked in the postgame locker room at Rocket Arena, how did you guys do it?
"Short answer would be Jordan Ross," Barrett said.
Ross, the sophomore guard, indeed thrived in the second half. He had 13 of his team-high 15 points after intermission and all three of his assists came in the final 20 minutes.
"And this guy on my right, Jordan Ross, saved my butt," Marciulionis said only half-jokingly in that postgame locker room.
The left-hander went 5-for-8 from the floor in the second half, including hitting both of his 3-point attempts.
Ross said that because Marciulionis got in foul trouble, "we needed someone to play-make and get downhill, and I just started to be more aggressive."
In the previous six games, Ross had not scored in double digits, lowlighted by a scoreless night in the Gaels' 58-51 loss to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament final March 11.
The 15 points he scored against Vandy were the most he has had since a career-high 19-point night in a 68-64 loss to Arizona State on Nov. 29.
"Maybe the last three or four games weren't the best" for Ross, Marciulionis said, "but I see him in practices every day. I've seen him play so many times, and especially for the big moments, he's ready. The lights are never too bright for him."
As Marciulionis noted, Ross might have been the biggest reason the Gaels prevailed but he was by no means the only one. Saint Mary's outrebounded Vandy 24-13 in the second half and grabbed nine offensive boards in that half after grabbing only in the opening half.
Center Mitchell Saxen (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Barrett (12 points, 10 boards) finished with double-doubles. And Marciulionis provided two key 3-pointers, the first of which gave the Gaels their first lead of the afternoon at 46-45 with just less than seven minutes to go.
His second 3 came with 4½ minutes left and gave the Gaels (29-5) a 53-50 lead. They remained in front the rest of the way.
After Saxen hit the second of two foul shots with 27 seconds remaining to make it 59-56, the Commodores (20-13) had two chances to tie, but 3-point attempts by Jason Edwards (game-high 18 points) and Devin McGlockton were off the mark. The Gaels had earned the eighth NCAA Tournament win in school history.
"You go into this game very much expecting to win," Barrett said, "but to win like that, you got the full range of emotions, so it definitely will be one of the most memorable games I've played."
Saxen owns the school record for games played at 155 and counting. He said Friday's win ranks "up there, man, but to get one really up there, we've got to go get the next one."
He then referenced assistant coach Mickey McConnell, a starting guard on the 2009-10 SMC team that reached the Sweet 16.
"I'm tired of hearing Mickey McConnell say, 'I was on that Sweet 16 team,' " Saxen said with a mixture of levity and seriousness. "It's time to put another team in the history books for us."
Saxen's trey: With about six minutes remaining in the first half and the shot clock about to expire, forward Ashton Hardaway fed Saxen, who was standing beyond the arc.
Saxen had no choice but to launch a shot that cut the Gaels' deficit to 20-16. It was the second trey of Saxen's career. His first had come in the second game of his freshman season in a 66-64 win over Northern Iowa in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Nov. 26, 2020.
"End of shot clock, threw it up, and got a little lucky," Saxen said. "Better to be lucky than good sometimes."
For the record, Saxen improved to 2-for-6 from beyond the arc in his college career.
The Bama matchup: At 3:10 p.m. PDT Sunday, Saint Mary's, the 7-seed in the East Region, will face Alabama, the 2-seed. The Tide (26-8) advanced by outlasting Robert Morris 90-81 on Friday. All-America guard Mark Sears had 22 points and 10 assists.
Saint Mary's ranks fourth in the nation in fewest points allowed per game at 60.5. Alabama leads the nation in points per game at 91.1.
"They play really fast," Marciulionis said. "If we can slow the game down, we can really be in the game with them."
Alabama made it to the Final Four as a 4-seed in the West Region last year. The Gaels were the 5-seed and would have faced Bama in the second round but they fell 75-66 to Grand Canyon.
"It'll be a great challenge. They're a No. 2 seed for a reason," Barrett said. "We wanted to play this game last year and we fell short against GCU, so (we're) very excited to play" Alabama. Barrett added that the Gaels will "try to bend them to our will, bend them to our style. That's what we've been doing to teams, so that's the plan."
Notes: Saint Mary's outrebounded Vandy 41-28. The 13-board margin matched the smallest the Gaels have enjoyed over their past seven games. … Barrett, Marciulionis and Saxen have been part of three NCAA Tournament wins. That matches the SMC record shared with five other players: Matthew Dellavedova, Beau Levesque, Jorden Page, Tim Williams and Mitchell Young.
CLEVELAND – With 16 minutes left in its NCAA Tournament opener Friday, Saint Mary's trailed Vanderbilt 39-27 and point guard Augustas Marciulionis, the two-time WCC Player of the Year, had just gone to the bench after picking up his fourth foul.
Somehow, the Gaels turned that bleak situation into a memorable one, as they rallied for a 59-56 win. So, forward Luke Barrett was asked in the postgame locker room at Rocket Arena, how did you guys do it?
"Short answer would be Jordan Ross," Barrett said.
Ross, the sophomore guard, indeed thrived in the second half. He had 13 of his team-high 15 points after intermission and all three of his assists came in the final 20 minutes.
"And this guy on my right, Jordan Ross, saved my butt," Marciulionis said only half-jokingly in that postgame locker room.
The left-hander went 5-for-8 from the floor in the second half, including hitting both of his 3-point attempts.
Ross said that because Marciulionis got in foul trouble, "we needed someone to play-make and get downhill, and I just started to be more aggressive."
In the previous six games, Ross had not scored in double digits, lowlighted by a scoreless night in the Gaels' 58-51 loss to Gonzaga in the WCC Tournament final March 11.
The 15 points he scored against Vandy were the most he has had since a career-high 19-point night in a 68-64 loss to Arizona State on Nov. 29.
"Maybe the last three or four games weren't the best" for Ross, Marciulionis said, "but I see him in practices every day. I've seen him play so many times, and especially for the big moments, he's ready. The lights are never too bright for him."
As Marciulionis noted, Ross might have been the biggest reason the Gaels prevailed but he was by no means the only one. Saint Mary's outrebounded Vandy 24-13 in the second half and grabbed nine offensive boards in that half after grabbing only in the opening half.
Center Mitchell Saxen (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Barrett (12 points, 10 boards) finished with double-doubles. And Marciulionis provided two key 3-pointers, the first of which gave the Gaels their first lead of the afternoon at 46-45 with just less than seven minutes to go.
His second 3 came with 4½ minutes left and gave the Gaels (29-5) a 53-50 lead. They remained in front the rest of the way.
After Saxen hit the second of two foul shots with 27 seconds remaining to make it 59-56, the Commodores (20-13) had two chances to tie, but 3-point attempts by Jason Edwards (game-high 18 points) and Devin McGlockton were off the mark. The Gaels had earned the eighth NCAA Tournament win in school history.
"You go into this game very much expecting to win," Barrett said, "but to win like that, you got the full range of emotions, so it definitely will be one of the most memorable games I've played."
Saxen owns the school record for games played at 155 and counting. He said Friday's win ranks "up there, man, but to get one really up there, we've got to go get the next one."
He then referenced assistant coach Mickey McConnell, a starting guard on the 2009-10 SMC team that reached the Sweet 16.
"I'm tired of hearing Mickey McConnell say, 'I was on that Sweet 16 team,' " Saxen said with a mixture of levity and seriousness. "It's time to put another team in the history books for us."
Saxen's trey: With about six minutes remaining in the first half and the shot clock about to expire, forward Ashton Hardaway fed Saxen, who was standing beyond the arc.
Saxen had no choice but to launch a shot that cut the Gaels' deficit to 20-16. It was the second trey of Saxen's career. His first had come in the second game of his freshman season in a 66-64 win over Northern Iowa in Sioux Falls, S.D., on Nov. 26, 2020.
"End of shot clock, threw it up, and got a little lucky," Saxen said. "Better to be lucky than good sometimes."
For the record, Saxen improved to 2-for-6 from beyond the arc in his college career.
The Bama matchup: At 3:10 p.m. PDT Sunday, Saint Mary's, the 7-seed in the East Region, will face Alabama, the 2-seed. The Tide (26-8) advanced by outlasting Robert Morris 90-81 on Friday. All-America guard Mark Sears had 22 points and 10 assists.
Saint Mary's ranks fourth in the nation in fewest points allowed per game at 60.5. Alabama leads the nation in points per game at 91.1.
"They play really fast," Marciulionis said. "If we can slow the game down, we can really be in the game with them."
Alabama made it to the Final Four as a 4-seed in the West Region last year. The Gaels were the 5-seed and would have faced Bama in the second round but they fell 75-66 to Grand Canyon.
"It'll be a great challenge. They're a No. 2 seed for a reason," Barrett said. "We wanted to play this game last year and we fell short against GCU, so (we're) very excited to play" Alabama. Barrett added that the Gaels will "try to bend them to our will, bend them to our style. That's what we've been doing to teams, so that's the plan."
Notes: Saint Mary's outrebounded Vandy 41-28. The 13-board margin matched the smallest the Gaels have enjoyed over their past seven games. … Barrett, Marciulionis and Saxen have been part of three NCAA Tournament wins. That matches the SMC record shared with five other players: Matthew Dellavedova, Beau Levesque, Jorden Page, Tim Williams and Mitchell Young.
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