Making plays, scoring baskets: Joshua Dent is No. 3 in the West Coast Conference for assists—and Saturday night added 24 points of his own. / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
Gaels Cruise to 54-Point Victory over UC Merced in Final Game of Opening Homestand
Point guard Joshua Dent scores 24 and a career-high five three-pointers. The Gaels have now scored 80+ points six games in a row, and The Athletic puts them at No. 25 in the country.
For the second straight season, the Saint Mary’s Gaels (6–0) are unbeaten heading into their Thanksgiving multi-team event, as they downed the UC Merced Bobcats on Saturday night by an emphatic 96–42. In the final game of their opening six-game homestand at UCU Pavilion, the Gaels continued to score with extreme efficiency, shooting at least 50% from the field for the fourth time in six contests. For the record, the 54-point margin of victory was the seventh largest in program history.
It was a career night for point guard Joshua Dent, who scored 24, burying a career-high five threes, while also dishing out four assists. While the spotlight was on the Aussie’s three-point shooting, he also connected on both of his driving layup attempts and drew four fouls, resulting in five free throw attempts, all of which he drained. Paulius Murauskas finished with 18 points and was 2–3 from beyond the arc, while also coming up with a pair of steals. Mikey Lewis scored 13 and dished out six assists, matching his career high from earlier in the week against Arkansas State.
Off the bench, Harry Wessels scored 12 and came up one rebound shy of his first collegiate double-double. Tony Duckett dropped 10 in his first double-digit scoring effort as a Gael. Saint Mary’s set season highs in points scored, field goals made, three-point field goals made, and steals, while setting a season-low mark with eight turnovers.
The Gaels are both celebrating six straight wins and half a dozen offensive outpourings; they have now scored 80+ in six straight for the first since the 2009–10 season. It’s not just points; Saint Mary’s continues to shoot 50% from the field, better 45.7% from three, and better than 79.1% from the stripe.
The Gaels’ Road to Victory
The Bobcats came out of the gates hot, taking leads at 2–0, 4–2, and 7–6—what would be their final lead of the half. The Gaels went on a 19–2 run to push ahead 25–9, with 11 of those 19 points being scored by Joshua Dent. Saint Mary’s lead swelled to 18 points at 36–18 following a Paulius Murauskas triple, but the Bobcats recaptured some momentum heading into the break with an 8–4 run to cut the deficit back to 14 at the halftime buzzer. Joshua Dent led the offense for the Gaels with 11 points, burying three threes, a new career-high. Harry Wessels and Paulius Murauskas each chipped in eight, with Wessels leading the team with six boards. Mikey Lewis was held relatively in check, with just six points at the break, but led the Gaels with four first half assists. Eleven of the Gaels’ 13 made buckets came off of assists, in another demonstration of unselfish basketball.
UC Merced hit the first bucket of the second half to cut the deficit to 12, but that was one of just six made baskets by the Bobcats in the second frame. Meanwhile, the Gaels converted on 19 of 33 shot attempts, outscoring Merced 56–16 to walk away with the 96–42 win. Joshua Dent continued to be the Gaels’ go-to scorer in the second half, contributing 13 points and not missing from the field on four attempts. Paulius Murauskas added 10, missing just one field goal attempt, as the Gaels shot 57.6% in half number two. Most importantly, the Gaels took much better care of the basketball, as after coughing the ball up seven times in the opening frame, they gave it away just once in the second stanza.
Joshua Dent: More than a Playmaker
Joshua Dent has been heralded for his high level point guard ability, sitting with the second best assist-to-turnover ratio (4.71) and the third most assists (33) in the West Coast Conference. That said, Saturday night was all about Dent's scoring ability. The Wollongong, Australia native dropped a career-high 24, burying five triples, the most of any Gael this season.
Dent also connected on all five free throw attempts, moving him to 22 for 22 for the year. He is currently just nine consecutive made free throws away from tying Dan Galvin's consecutive free throw make record—which has stood since 1948. With an ability to both score and create scoring opportunities for others, Dent has demonstrated his veteran level talent for the Gaels despite being just a true sophomore.
That 80+ Streak
With six 80+ games in a row, can the Gaels make it seven? To find the last time the Gaels accomplished that, you’d have to set the Wayback Machine for the end of the 1976–77 season to the start of the 1977–78 campaign under the guidance of Coach Frank LaPorte, when the Gaels scored 80+ in 12 straight from February 10, 1977, to December 13, 1977.
The Athletic: Saint Mary’s Is No. 25 in the Country
Coming off of Saturday’s game, the Gaels are one of only four undefeated teams in the WCC. Already at the beginning of the week, CJ Moore of The Athletic had moved Saint Mary’s into No. 25 in the country.
Those paying attention to the numbers know why: Saint Mary’s has one of the most efficient offenses in the country. Along with coring 80-plus points in six straight games, the Gaels are the nation’s top three-point shooting team and in the top 10 when it comes to margin of victory.
Up Next: Gaels in the Battle 4 Atlantis
The undefeated Gaels are Bahamas bound, as they get set for the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis, November 26–28. Saint Mary’s opening contest in this tournament will be on Wednesday, November 26, when they take on Wichita State (4–1). Tipoff in the Imperial Arena is set for 7:30 p.m. local time/4:30 p.m. Pacific. Watch the game live on ESPN2.
On November 27, SMC will face either Colorado State or Virginia Tech.
Story and photos updated November 26 at 1 p.m. Pacific
