No. 18 Saint Mary's beats San Diego 88-62 to wrap up a share of WCC title
AP
Feb 25, 2024
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) Mitchell Saxen scored 20 points and No. 18 Saint Mary's Gaels won its 15th straight game to wrap up at least a share of the West Coast Conference regular-season title with a 88-62 victory over San Diego Toreros on Saturday night.
The Gaels (23-6, 14-0) have the longest active winning streak in the nation and wrapped up the No. 1 seed in the WCC tournament in Las Vegas next month. Saint Mary's can win its first outright regular-season conference title since 2012 with a victory Thursday night at Pepperdine.
“We’re not celebrating right now,” coach Randy Bennett said. “We’ve got another game Thursday in Malibu and we’ll go from there. These guys have been very good at being able to compartmentalize and not getting distracted on anything else.”
Alex Ducas had 18 points on six 3-pointers to go with 12 rebounds, Aidan Mahaney added 15 points and Augustas Marciulionis had 13 points and 10 assists for the Gaels.
Deuce Turner scored 20 points to lead San Diego (16-13, 6-8). The Toreros lost guard Wayne McKinney III to a right knee injury in the first half and wore down against the Gaels.
“They have a consistent buzz saw approach in terms of sustaining really efficient offensive basketball,” coach Steve Lavin said. "Early, we were fine in terms of the numbers offensively, but then they separated. Losing Wayne McKinney, he's our motor and engine and only played six minutes. That was a real blow for us."
Saint Mary's made seven straight baskets early in the first half to take a 10-point lead on a layup by Saxen. The Gaels frequently were able to get open looks in the lane and opened up a 43-30 halftime lead.
Saint Mary's then hit four 3-pointers in the first four minutes of the second half - including the first of Mason Forbes' college career in his 88th game - to open up a 21-point lead and rolled on from there.
“I thought we were really good in the second half. Really good," Bennett said. “We did a better job defensively. ... In the second half we were very consistent and just kept taking turf little by little.”
BIG PICTURE
San Diego: The Toreros had won six of eight games but have been unable to breakthrough against the top teams in the WCC. San Diego finished the regular season 0-6 against the top three teams in the standings, getting outscored by 23.7 points per game against Saint Mary's, Gonzaga and San Francisco.
Saint Mary’s: The Gaels set a school record with their 14th straight conference win and have a chance to wrap up a perfect regular season in WCC play with wins next week against Pepperdine and rival Gonzaga.
INJURY REPORT
The Gaels lost another big man to an injury this week with backup center Harry Wessels injuring his shoulder in practice. Wessels is in a sling and officially listed as day to day.
Saint Mary's starting forward Joshua Jefferson is out for the season with a knee injury.
UP NEXT
San Diego: Visit Loyola Marymount on Thursday night.
Saint Mary’s: Visit Pepperdine on Thursday night.
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1st Half
USD
Toreros
30
SMARY
Gaels
43
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
(Toreros gains possession)
19:35
PJ Hayes misses three point jump shot
19:32
Mitchell Saxen defensive rebound
19:17
+2
Mason Forbes makes two point layup (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
0-2
19:17
Steven Jamerson II shooting foul (Mason Forbes draws the foul)
19:17
Mason Forbes misses regular free throw 1 of 1
19:15
Kevin Patton Jr. defensive rebound
19:02
Wayne McKinney III turnover (Augustas Marciulionis steals)
18:59
Deuce Turner personal foul (Augustas Marciulionis draws the foul)
18:59
+1
Augustas Marciulionis makes regular free throw 1 of 2
0-3
18:59
+1
Augustas Marciulionis makes regular free throw 2 of 2
0-4
18:33
+2
Wayne McKinney III makes two point layup (Deuce Turner assists)
2-4
18:10
Augustas Marciulionis turnover (lost ball) (Kevin Patton Jr. steals)
18:10
+2
Steven Jamerson II makes two point dunk (Wayne McKinney III assists)
4-4
17:53
+2
Augustas Marciulionis makes two point layup (Aidan Mahaney assists)
4-6
17:37
Kevin Patton Jr. misses two point layup
17:34
Alex Ducas defensive rebound
17:30
Augustas Marciulionis misses two point layup
17:26
Steven Jamerson II defensive rebound
17:22
Deuce Turner misses three point jump shot
17:18
Aidan Mahaney defensive rebound
17:06
+2
Mitchell Saxen makes two point layup (Mason Forbes assists)
4-8
16:41
+2
Deuce Turner makes two point layup
6-8
16:14
Aidan Mahaney misses three point jump shot
16:08
Deuce Turner defensive rebound
16:06
+2
Kevin Patton Jr. makes two point dunk (Deuce Turner assists)
8-8
15:43
TV timeout
15:35
+3
Alex Ducas makes three point jump shot (Mitchell Saxen assists)
8-11
15:14
Mitchell Saxen blocks Steven Jamerson II's two point layup
15:12
PJ Hayes offensive rebound
15:02
+2
Deuce Turner makes two point jump shot
10-11
14:39
+2
Mason Forbes makes two point layup (Mitchell Saxen assists)
10-13
14:25
Wayne McKinney III misses two point jump shot
14:23
Mitchell Saxen defensive rebound
14:10
+2
Mitchell Saxen makes two point hook shot (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
10-15
13:58
Deuce Turner turnover (Mitchell Saxen steals)
13:48
+2
Aidan Mahaney makes two point layup
10-17
13:43
Toreros 30 second timeout
13:43
TV timeout
13:20
+3
Deuce Turner makes three point jump shot (Emmanuel Callas assists)
13-17
12:58
+2
Luke Barrett makes two point layup (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
13-19
12:39
Luke Barrett personal foul
12:29
PJ Hayes misses three point jump shot
12:27
Aidan Mahaney defensive rebound
12:19
+2
Aidan Mahaney makes two point layup
13-21
12:09
Deuce Turner misses two point layup
12:07
Luke Barrett defensive rebound
11:53
+2
Mitchell Saxen makes two point layup (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
13-23
11:20
Toreros turnover (shot clock violation)
11:20
TV timeout
11:09
Chris Howell misses three point jump shot
11:07
Steven Jamerson II defensive rebound
11:02
Wayne McKinney III turnover (Augustas Marciulionis steals)
10:34
Emmanuel Callas blocks Augustas Marciulionis's two point jump shot
10:32
Gaels offensive rebound
10:31
+2
Luke Barrett makes two point layup (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
13-25
10:02
Steven Jamerson II misses two point jump shot
10:00
Toreros offensive rebound
9:57
+2
Deuce Turner makes two point layup (Kevin Patton Jr. assists)
15-25
9:43
+2
Augustas Marciulionis makes two point layup (Aidan Mahaney assists)
15-27
9:22
+2
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. makes two point layup (Deuce Turner assists)
17-27
9:01
Aidan Mahaney misses three point jump shot
8:59
Mason Forbes offensive rebound
8:54
Chris Howell misses three point jump shot
8:52
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. defensive rebound
8:33
Aidan Mahaney shooting foul (Kevin Patton Jr. draws the foul)
8:33
+1
Kevin Patton Jr. makes regular free throw 1 of 2
18-27
8:33
+1
Kevin Patton Jr. makes regular free throw 2 of 2
19-27
8:18
+2
Luke Barrett makes two point layup (Mason Forbes assists)
19-29
7:57
Mason Forbes personal foul (Jimmy Oladokun Jr. draws the foul)
7:57
TV timeout
7:55
+3
Deuce Turner makes three point jump shot (Kevin Patton Jr. assists)
22-29
7:34
Luke Barrett turnover (Jimmy Oladokun Jr. steals)
7:25
Kevin Patton Jr. misses three point jump shot
7:23
Luke Barrett defensive rebound
7:03
Kevin Patton Jr. shooting foul (Mitchell Saxen draws the foul)
7:03
+1
Mitchell Saxen makes regular free throw 1 of 2
22-30
7:03
+1
Mitchell Saxen makes regular free throw 2 of 2
22-31
6:49
Deuce Turner misses two point jump shot
6:47
Alex Ducas defensive rebound
6:36
+3
Alex Ducas makes three point jump shot (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
22-34
6:11
Keyon Kensie misses three point jump shot
6:09
Augustas Marciulionis defensive rebound
5:40
+2
Mitchell Saxen makes two point layup (Augustas Marciulionis assists)
22-36
5:31
+2
Keyon Kensie makes two point dunk (PJ Hayes assists)
24-36
5:13
Jimmy Oladokun Jr. blocks Aidan Mahaney's two point layup
5:10
Gaels offensive rebound
5:01
Jordan Ross misses two point jump shot
4:59
Alex Ducas offensive rebound
4:48
Emmanuel Callas personal foul (Augustas Marciulionis draws the foul)
4:30
Jordan Ross misses three point jump shot
4:28
Keyon Kensie defensive rebound
4:22
Augustas Marciulionis shooting foul (Keyon Kensie draws the foul)