MBB | Gaels Limit Aggies to Season-Low 63 Points but Fall in NCAA Tournament

Thursday, March 19

4:35 PM

Saint Mary's College of California

27-6,16-2WCC

Texas A&M

22-11,11-7SEC

Texas A&M

Saint Mary's (CA)

Liam Campbell: 15 pts (5-7 FG, 3-3 3pt), 5 reb

Photo by: Saint Mary's Athletics / Tod Fierner

MBB | Gaels Limit Aggies to Season-Low 63 Points but Fall in NCAA Tournament

3/19/2026 8:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Saint Mary's men's basketball team fell in their NCAA Tournament clash with Texas A&M, 63-50, on Thursday evening in Oklahoma City. The Gaels put up a strong defensive effort against the explosive Aggies, but couldn't quite land a knockout blow offensively. Saint Mary's season now comes to an end with a 27-6 overall record, marking its sixth consecutive season of 26 or more wins, excluding the 2020-21 shortened 24 game campaign.

Sophomore point guard Joshua Dent led all Gaels with 18 points, in what was his third career NCAA Tournament game, but his first playing more than just a minute of action. The Wollongong, Australia native was 7-14 from the field, and buried four threes to go along with a team-high four assists. In his NCAA Tournament debut, redshirt freshman Liam Campbell provided a spark off the bench for SMC, scoring 15 on 5-7 shooting and a perfect 3-3 clip from beyond the arc. Another freshman competing in March Madness for the first time, Dillan Shaw chipped in eight points, with six rebounds and a pair of steals.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gaels hung tough throughout the first half, using the three ball to cut into an early deficit, and with 4:54 remaining, back-to-back threes from Mikey Lewis and Joshua Dent brought the score to 23-22. The Aggies would find their stroke in the final four minutes and change of the frame, and took a 37-26 lead into the break. Saint Mary's shot a strong 6-13 clip from beyond the arc, with Dent and Liam Campbell each canning a pair.

Saint Mary's ramped up the defensive intensity in the second half, limiting the Aggies to just 26 points, their second lowest tally in a half all season. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't match, as timely threes got the Gaels to as close as 12 points at the 7:41 mark, but the deficit ultimately settled on 13 points, 63-50.

GAME NOTES

Saint Mary's closed out their season with a 27-6 record. Over the last four seasons, the Gaels have won 109 games, good for second most in program history over a four year stretch.
The Gaels showed off their defensive prowess tonight against one of the top-10 offenses in the country, limiting Texas A&M (87.7 PPG entering tonight) to just 63 points. The 63 points scored by the Aggies tied for their fewest points scored in a game this season.
Saint Mary's continued to shoot the three ball well, shooting better than 40% (43.5%) for the 17th time this year, and making double-digit triples for the 11th time this season. The Gaels had gone unbeaten when making 10+ threes and shooting 40% or better from deep this season prior to tonight.
The 10 three pointers made tied the Gaels NCAA Tournament single game record for made threes in a game. The only other time that they buried ten three in the Big Dance came against Indiana in 2022.
Liam Campbell scored in double-figures tonight for the first time since Feb. 4, providing a spark of instant offense off the bench. He tied his career-high with three made three pointers, and was a perfect 3-3 from deep for the first time in his career.
This helped Campbell finish his season with a 52% three point clip, good for fourth best in program history.
Joshua Dent's 18 points were the most scored by a Gael in an NCAA Tournament game since Logan Johnson scored 18 against UCLA in the 2022 Round of 32.