MBB | New Gaels’ Era Opens with Overtime Thriller Victory Over Illinois State

Monday, November 2

Moraga, CA

7:00 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

1-0,0-0WCC

Illinois State

0-1,0-0MVC

Team	1	2	OT 1	F
Illinois St.	39	38	8	85
Saint Mary's (CA)	33	44	13	90

Highlights

Thomas Ndong: 18 pts (7-9 FG, 1-1 3pt, 3-4 FT) 6 reb

Photo by: Varun Aravind (@vflicks04)

11/2/2026 11:41:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Highlights

MORAGA, Calif. — The Mickey McConnell era at Saint Mary's opened with a bang on Monday night, as the Gaels outlasted the Illinois State Redbirds to earn a hardfought 90-85 overtime victory. Saint Mary's overcame a second half double-digit deficit, outscoring Illinois State 42-27 down the stretch to pick up the season-opening victory.

Mantas Juzenas earned his first collegiate double-double, dropping a team-high 20 points and ripping down a team best 11 boards to showcase his versatility on both ends of the floor. Big men Thomas Ndong and Vangelis Zougris were both ultra efficient scoring the rock, with the former scoring 18 points on 7-9 shooting, and the latter adding 16 points on a perfect 7-7 field goal clip. True freshman Darius Bivins rounded out the double-digit scoring, making an impact in his collegiate debut with 11 points with three assists and three steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The season opener for both of these sides, Illinois State and Saint Mary's found themselves deadlocked in a tight battle from the opening tip, and with 3:30 remaining in the opening frame, were tied up at 27 apiece. The Redbirds took momentum into the break however, closing out the half on a 12-6 run. Thomas Ndong was a massive spark off the bench in the first half, coming on to score nine points on 4-5 shooting.

Mantas Juzenas sparked a 7-2 run on his own to open the second stanza, to cut the deficit to one, and, after Illinois State ballooned the lead back to seven, Vangelis Zougris went on a 6-0 run of his own, once again bringing Saint Mary's back within one, 47-46. Despite the Gaels coming close to regaining the lead, the Redbirds continued to bury timely shots, and took their largest lead 58-48 with 12:34 remaining in regulation. Despite the uphill battle ahead of them, Saint Mary's continued to chip away at the deficit, and with five minutes remaining, went on a 9-0 run punctuated by a Jeremy Dent-Smith steal and score to take their first lead of the second half at 73-72. Despite the stymieing Gaels' defense preventing Illinois State from hitting a field goal for nearly four full minutes of play, a three pointer from the Redbirds would give them a two point lead with 0:43 seconds remaining. In their final offensive possession of regulation, Thomas Ndong ripped down an offensive board and scored a putback layup with 20 ticks to go to level things at 77. Saint Mary's would get a stop on the other end, forcing overtime.

Illinois State would score the first two points of overtime on a pair of free throws, but Joshua Dent would respond with a layup of his own. After a defensive stop, Thomas Ndong would earn two more free throws following an offensive board and foul, making both, as the Gaels would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of OT. On a night filled with plays from veterans, it was true freshman Darius Bivins who had the final decisive blow, picking the pocket of Illinois State's Demarion Burch and scoring a layup on the ensuing possession with 22 second remaining, giving the Gaels a five point lead, where the game would eventually settle, 90-85.

GAME NOTES

Mickey McConnell became the first Saint Mary's Men's Basketball Coach since Dave Bollwinkel in 1997 to win his first game at the helm of the program.
The Gaels also kept their streak of six straight season opening victories and 27 straight home wins alive with tonight's overtime thriller victory.
The win was the Gaels' first all-time against Illinois State, dropping their previous two meetings against the Redbirds in 1993 and 1994.
This was Saint Mary's first overtime victory since Dec. 3, 2024, an 82-74 win over UTSA.
Mantas Juzenas opened his 2026-27 campaign with a 20 point, 11 rebound double-double, making him the first Gael since Paulius Murauskas and Luke Barrett in 2024 to open a season with a double-double.
Thomas Ndong added 18 points off the bench, the most points scored by a Gael non-starter since Liam Campbell scored 20 against Ohio on Nov. 11, 2025.
Vangelis Zougris was a perfect 7-7 from the field, making him the first Gael since Matthias Tass (Nov. 17, 2021 vs. Bellarmine) to go 100% from the field on at least seven field goal attempts.
True freshman Darius Bivins scored 11 in his collegiate debut, becoming the first Gael true freshman to score in double-figures in his collegiate debut since Mikey Lewis (Nov. 4, 2024 vs. Towson).
Jeremy Dent-Smith stuffed the stat sheet with six points, four assists, no turnovers and five steals. He is the first Gael since Joshua Jefferson to record at least five steals, four assists and zero turnovers in a game (Jan. 11, 2024 vs. Portland).

QUOTABLE

UP NEXT
The Gaels will have a quick turnaround, facing off with North Dakota State on Wednesday, Nov. 4. Tip-off for that matchup between two 2026 NCAA Tournament teams is slated for 7 p.m. Get your tickets at smcgaels.com/tickets, or stream live on ESPN+.

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