Photo by: SMC Athletics / Piper Westrom
Kroner's Corner Season 2: Bay Area Battles Upcoming
1/13/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
During Randy Bennett's news conference following Saint Mary's 88-82 win over Washington State on Saturday afternoon, a reporter asked the Gaels' head coach if he finds it fun when his team takes on Bay Area rivals USF and Santa Clara.
(OK, in this era of full disclosure, I asked the question.)
"They're tough. Both of 'em are," Bennett said of the Dons and Broncos. "I don't know if we go into it – at least I don't – going, 'Hey, this is fun.' We go into it thinking, 'This is going to be a tough challenge.' "
This week, the Gaels (16-2, 5-0 WCC) get the challenge playing on the Hilltop on Tuesday night and at the Leavey Center on Saturday afternoon.
Saint Mary's guard Josh Dent mentioned added motivation for the Gaels when they face the Dons: USF handed SMC its lone conference loss last season, a 65-64 decision at the Sobrato Center on Feb. 6.
The Gaels will take a seven-game winning streak into Tuesday's matchup. The Dons (12-7, 4-2) are coming off an 80-60 romp over Pepperdine in Malibu on Saturday. USF got a career-high 27 points (including seven 3-pointers) from forward Junjie Wang and double-doubles from swingman Tyrone Riley IV (19 points, 11 rebounds) and forward David Fuchs (14 points, 12 boards).
The Dons won by 20 even though junior guard Ryan Beasley was sidelined with an ankle injury he suffered in USF's 84-82 double-overtime loss at Loyola Marymount on Thursday night. An alum of Dougherty Valley High in San Ramon, Beasley had a career-high 32 points in the loss. He leads the Dons in scoring this season at 14.2 points per game.
Santa Clara (14-5, 5-1) overwhelmed visiting LMU 103-72 on Saturday night. Redshirt freshman guard Sash Gavalyugov put on a show with 37 points on 14-for-20 shooting, including 6-for-12 from beyond the arc.
For the season, guard Christian Hammond (16.3 ppg) and forward Elijah Mahi (14.7 ppg) have been the Broncos' main men. Like SMC (11-0), Santa Clara (9-0) is unbeaten at home this season. The Broncos host Pacific (12-7, 3-3) on Wednesday night before welcoming the Gaels.
Lewis' resurgence: SMC sophomore guard Mikey Lewis had struggled offensively in recent games, but he delivered the key sequence in the Gaels' victory over the Cougars.
WSU had cut what had been an 18-point deficit to three with just more than seven minutes remaining when Lewis went to work. He hit consecutive treys to put the Gaels up by nine, then after two free throws by WSU's Ace Glass, Lewis scored another six straight points – three foul shots and another 3-pointer.
Just like that, Saint Mary's led 80-67 with four minutes remaining.
"Mikey really separated the game for us," Bennett said. "I thought it was the best stretch he's had in a while, and it was good to see. It really helped us win the game."
Lewis finished with 20 points, his first double-digit scoring total in conference play this season and the first time he reached 20 points since he had 23 in the Gaels' 80-49 rout of North Texas on Nov. 14.
And perhaps more important, Lewis went 3-for-6 from long range. It was his first game shooting at least 50% on 3's since a 4-for-7 performance against Vanderbilt on Nov. 28.
"I'm always the biggest believer in Mikey," Dent said. "I'm always willing to give up my open 3 for him. …
"Once he gets a couple in, the hoop seems to expand for him. So, getting him confident and flowing going into this tough road stretch will be key for us."
Thriving at the line: Lewis went 9-for-9 on free-throw attempts Saturday as the Gaels established a program record for the most foul shots made in a game without a miss, 20. The previous mark was 18, set in a 71-60 victory over LMU on Feb. 5, 2022.
Through Saturday, the Gaels were leading the country in free-throw percentage at 81.6. The program record for a season is 76.9, set in 2017-18.
Nationally, Lewis (47-for-50, 94%) and Dent (58-for-62, 93.5%) ranked tied for third and tied for seventh, respectively, in free-throw percentage through Saturday. And forward Paulius Murauskas (112-for-135, 83%) was second nationally in free throws made and tied for fourth in free-throw attempts.
The fact that those three players are so effective at the line benefits the Gaels in the final minutes of a tight game.
"It really helps that your players who play a lot and the ball's in their hands a lot are really good free-throw shooters," Bennett said.
Notes: The Gaels' 20-game home winning streak is second in program history, three games shy of the streak that began in 2021 and ended in '23. … Four of SMC's next five games are on the road. … Center Andrew McKeever leads the WCC in rebounds per game at 9.2. Murauskas is third (7.6). He leads the conference in points per game at 19.6.
Steve Kroner has covered Bay Area sports for more than four decades, mainly at KPIX-TV (Channel 5) and the San Francisco Chronicle. He is in his second season working as an analyst alongside Brian Brownfield on SMC men's basketball telecasts on ESPN+.
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