Gaels Catch the Cougars and Lock up an 80–75 Win, Continue the Best Road Winning Streak in the Nation

Paulius Murauskas is a one-man wrecking crew with 25 points. Augustas Marciulionis scores 17. Saint Mary’s leads the West Coast Conference as the only undefeated team in conference play.

by Ryan Barnett, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications | January 26, 2025

In a dramatic come-from-behind win on Saturday night in Pullman, the Saint Mary's Gaels (18–3, 8–0 West Coast Conference) caught the Washington State Cougars (15–7, 5–4 WCC) and locked up an 80–75 victory. Led this game by the one-man wrecking crew of Paulius Murauskas, who scored 25 points, the Gaels weathered the Cougs’ scoring barrage and turned a 10-point deficit into a five-point win. 

This was the Gaels’ 14th consecutive victory on the road. They continue to hold the longest road winning streak in the NCAA. 

Murauskas arrived at the Beasley Coliseum following a 24 point performance on Thursday night against San Francisco. Against WSU, he added 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the season. Fellow Lithuanian and defending WCC Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis was not far behind with 17 points and seven assists. Jordan Ross chipped in 13, while Mitchell Saxen scored 12 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks, including the block that essentially ended the game with 36 seconds remaining. 

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Men's Basketball Augustas Marciulionis shoots against WSU in January 2025
The Goose against the Cougs: Saint Mary's Augustas Marciulionis had a big night offensively with 17 points and seven assists. / Photo by Bob Huebner, WSU Photo Services 

A Tale of Two Halves

The difference between the Gaels’ first and second half performances on the Palouse was night and day. Down 12–3 early in the game, the Gaels were able to come storming back, never letting the Cougars balloon the lead to double digits in the opening frame. With 16 seconds remaining in the first half, Paulius Murauskas hit a layup to bring the Gaels within one. But a Washington State bucket at the horn gave them a three point lead, 38–35, at the half. 

Murauskas led the Gaels with 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half, while Jordan Ross added nine and three assists. Both teams shot extremely well in the first half—the Gaels at 58.3% and the Cougs at 61.5%. The difference in the game was turnovers: The Gaels coughed the ball up 10 times, resulting in eight WSU points. The Gaels were also outscored in the paint in the first half, 26–20, an area where they were averaging a +10.8 scoring margin per game coming into Saturday’s matchup.

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Men's Basketball player Jordan Ross looks for a shot against WSU in January 2025
Generating good looks: Jordan Ross scored 13 for the Gaels. / Photo by Bob Huebner, WSU Photo Services

The Cougs started the second half on the front foot as well, using an 11–4 scoring run to go ahead by double digits. Unfazed, the Gaels got back to their steadfast, imposing style of basketball: chipping away at the deficit, patiently running their offense, taking care of the basketball, and generating good looks from their posts on the interior, while not giving Washington State much room to operate. SMC took their first lead of the game at 55–54 as part of a 20–5 run, and the Gaels would not relinquish it for the remainder of the contest. A Mitchell Saxen block of an Ethan Price three with 36 seconds remaining, along with excellent free throw shooting, sealed the 80–75 win. 

Paulius Murauskas contributed 13 more points in the second half. Augustus Marciulionis added 12 and four assists, while Saxen chipped in 10 and four rebounds, including three massive offensive boards. After 10 first half turnovers, the Gaels turned it over just twice in the second half—and none in the final nine minutes of play. Even more impressive, Saint Mary's did not allow Washington State to score on either turnover, outscoring the Cougs 8–0 off turnovers in the second half. 

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Men's basketball player Mitchell Saxen shoots against WSU in January 2025
Leading the NCAA: Mitchell Saxen scored 12 points, seven rebounds, and four blocks. When it comes to offensive rebounds, he's No. 1 in college basketball. / Photo by Bob Huebner, WSU Photo Services

Points in the paint changed in a big way in the second half, too, as the Gaels dropped 22 in close and limited WSU to just 10. Once again, the Gaels scored more than 50% of their points in the paint; nobody has had an answer on the interior for this SMC squad.

“We work on rebounding every day in practice,” said Mitchell Saxen after the game. Indeed, the Gaels are one of the top teams in the country when it comes to offensive rebounding—and Saxen is No. 1 in college basketball. “Our habits are insane, and rebounding, it’s a collective effort. Luke Barrett is probably the best offensive rebounding three man in the country, in my opinion, and Paulius Murauskas is a force on the boards, and it all just comes together every game.” 

The Lithuanian Leaders

The Lithuanian duo of Paulius Murauskas and Augustas Marciulionis served as the Gaels’ top two scorers—for the first time in WCC play and just the third time this season. For the season overall, however, the points this explosive pair have racked up game-by-game gives them distinction as the Gaels’ top two scorers, accounting for 35% of Saint Mary's points. Murauskas also leads the team in rebounds, and Marciulionis leads in assists. 

On Saturday night, Murauskas—who hit a brief scoring lull at the start of conference play, averaging just 8.8 points per game through the first six WCC matchups of the year—notched his second straight 20+ point outing. Along with 25 points, Murauskas ripped down 12 rebounds for his ninth double-double of the year, and his first since January 2 against Pepperdine. His stellar performances last week earned him national honors as Lute Olson Player of the Week.

Marciulionis broke out of a small scoring coldspell himself. Limited to just 8.3 PPG over his last three, he dropped 17 for the Gaels against WSU and dished out seven assists, his most since the conference opener against Pacific. 

They continue to draw comparisons to another legendary dynamic Gael duo hailing from outside the US: Aussies Jock Landale and Emmett Naar put up similar numbers in the 2017–18 season, leading the Gaels to their only 30 win season in program history. Landale now plays for the Houston Rockets in the NBA, and Naar plays with the Brisbane Bullets in Australia's National Basketball League.

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Men's basketball player Luke Barrett shoots against WSU in January 2025
A Gael teammate's take: “Luke Barrett is probably the best offensive rebounding three man in the country,” says Mitchell Saxen. / Photo by Bob Huebner, WSU Photo Services

National Attention

The Gaels are now ranked No. 23 in the country in NET rankings. Along with winning percentage, the NET rankings take into account game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency, and the quality of wins and losses. For the NCAA, it's both a results-driven and predictive metric.

Saint Mary’s is also atop the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25. Last week the Gaels received 23 of a possible 31 first place votes to place ahead of the likes of UC Irvine (second) and Gonzaga (third). Saint Mary’s, Gonzaga, San Francisco (11th), and Santa Clara (16th) are the WCC teams ranked on this list; Washington State and Oregon State have been deemed not eligible for this ranking.

UP NEXT: The Gaels stay on the road Wednesday, as they head south to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. at the Leavey Center. The game will be carried live on ESPNU.

 

Story updated January 27, 2025, to note that Paulius Murauskas has been named Lute Olson National Player of the Week.