Double digits: Rory Hawke made his first collegiate start and scored 10 for the Gaels. / Photo by Bahamas Visual Services
Gaels Defeat Hokies in Clash of Unbeatens, Move onto Battle 4 Atlantis Championship Game vs. Vanderbilt
Saint Mary’s never trailed in their 77–66 victory over Virginia Tech in the semifinals. Paulius Murauskas once again leads scoring, with 19 points. When it comes to rebounds, Andrew McKeever has 23 over the past two games.
For the first time since the opening week of the season, on Thanksgiving Day the Saint Mary’s Gaels (8–0) got a chance to square off with another unbeaten team: The Virginia Tech Hokies (6–1) also won their opening round contest of the Battle 4 Atlantis, and put their perfect record on the line again in the tournament semifinals against the Gaels. In the semifinals matchup in Paradise Island, Bahamas, it was the Gaels who looked the part of the far superior team from start to finish. Saint Mary’s never trailed en route to the 77–66 win—their seventh double-digit victory in eight tries.
Now at 8–0, the Gaels are off to their best start since the 2013–14 campaign, when they won nine straight. They are also the only undefeated team in the West Coast Conference.
For the second time in as many days, Paulius Murauskas led the Gaels’ offensive efforts, with 19 points to go along with seven rebounds, two blocks, and a steal. Murauskas has now scored 39 points over the first two games of the Battle 4 Atlantis and is averaging 20.3 points per contest over his last four games.
Point guard Joshua Dent and center Andrew McKeever each added 14, with Dent dishing out a team-high six assists and rejecting a career-high two shots, while McKeever continued to impose his will with eight boards and two blocked shots. Rounding out the double-digit scorers was Rory Hawke, with the redshirt sophomore from Townsville, Australia, making his first collegiate start, and scoring 10 on 4–5 shooting.
Offensively, the Gaels flexed their muscle in the paint, scoring 38 of their 77 in the key, leading to a 51.9% shooting clip. Defensively, the Gaels limited the Hokies to season-lows in field goal percentage (30.9%) and three point percentage (23.3%). Put those together, and Saint Mary's really flustered Virginia Tech from start to finish.
Dangerous in the Paint…Then Come the Threes
The Gaels completely bottled up Virginia Tech from the get go, getting stops on each of the first six Hokies possessions, en route to an early 8–0 lead. Saint Mary's would not relinquish the lead in the half, building it to as large as 12 points before eventually settling for an 11 point lead, 31–20, at the break. The offense for the Gaels was all about the inside-out: They scored 14 of their first 16 points in the paint but then buried three threes over the final 8:35 of the frame.
Two of those three threes belonged to Dillan Shaw, as the freshman led all Gaels with eight points on 3–4 shooting from the field and a perfect 2–2 clip from beyond the arc. Andrew McKeever added six points on 3–5 shooting, while blocking two shots and altering countless others, helping the Gaels hold the Hokies to just a 21.2% field goal shooting percentage for the half. Paulius Murauskas, who scored 20 in the Battle 4 Atlantis opener against Wichita State on Wednesday, was limited to just four points but ripped down a team-best six boards, helping the Gaels to a +7 advantage on the glass.
Murauskas and Dent Kick It up a Notch
While Virginia Tech started to knock down their three point shots in the second half, the Gaels continued to impose their will on the interior. With the double-digit cushion they built in the first half, SMC was able to salt away the victory by an 11-point margin, the same lead they took into the break. The Hokies were never able to get the game back to within one score, only cutting it to as close as four points. And with every Virginia Tech made shot, there seemed to be an answer on the other end of the court for the Gaels.
The Hokies came out of the gates swinging in the second half, going on a 16–7 run over the first 6:30 of the frame. But back-to-back three point plays from Joshua Dent and Paulius Murauskas surged Saint Mary’s lead back up to eight, and gave the Gaels the cushion they would need to carry the contest across the finish line.
Just like Wednesday night, Paulius Murauskas kicked his game up a notch in the second half, scoring 15 of his team-high 19 in the second stanza. Murauskas shot 5–10 from the field in the half, 2–5 from three, and 3–3 from the stripe, demonstrating his versatility as a dynamic scorer. Joshua Dent scored 11 in the second half while dishing out five assists and getting his hands in to disrupt a pair of shots. Andrew McKeever and Rory Hawke rounded out the group of major second half contributors with eight and six points respectively; McKeever also added six rebounds, and Hawke went 2–2 from the field and 2–2 from the stripe.
A-Mack Attack
Entering the Battle 4 Atlantis, there was no question that Andrew McKeever was an elite rebounder. Through the first six contests of the year, the redshirt sophomore out of Livermore, California, was averaging 10.5 boards per game, including 4.7 offensive. He had, however, struggled to score the rock at times, only reaching double-figures twice in those first six games. That concern would seem to have been erased through the first two games in the Bahamas: The 7’3” big man has scored 27 in those first two contests and has been very efficient, converting on 13 of 20 field goal attempts.
McKeever has also continued to dominate on the glass, with 23 rebounds in the two games. He has made life tough on teams trying to score on the interior, with four blocked shots, and many others altered.
Owning the Paint on Both Ends
The story of Thursday’s semifinals matchup was told inside the 19 x 12 foot painted rectangles on either side of the court, better known as the key. Offensively, nearly half of Saint Mary's points—38 of 77—were scored in the paint; the Gaels connected on 76.1% (16–21) of their layup and dunk attempts.
Meanwhile, Virginia Tech couldn't get anything going in the paint, converting on just 44% (8–18) of their layup attempts, and having six shots blocked by the lanky Gaels. This forced the Hokies to try and win the game from beyond the arc, but the Gaels’ stymying defense also shined there; they seldom gave VT a clean look at three, holding them to a season-low 23.3% (7–30) from deep.
Up Next: Gaels Are Championship Bound
The Gaels take on No. 24/23 Vanderbilt for the Battle 4 Atlantis Championship game on Friday, November 28. Tipoff in the Imperial Arena is set for 1 p.m. Eastern / 10 a.m. Pacific. Watch the game on ESPN2.
The championship offers a rematch of last season's 7–10 Round of 64 matchup in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament. Like the Gaels, Vandy is unbeaten this season. While this will be the second time in as many years that the Gaels are in an multiple-team event title game, they have not won an MTE title since 2009, when they hosted and won the Shamrock Office Solutions Classic, defeating Binghamton and Howard.
Story updated with WCC rankings on November 28, 2025 at 9 a.m. Pacific.
