Point guard heir apparent: Joshua Dent made his mark as playmaker and scorer in the Gaels’ victory over St. Thomas. / Photo by Tod Fierner for SMC Athletics
Gaels Knock Down 11 Threes in 84–58 Victory over St. Thomas in Statement Season Opener
Mikey Lewis leads Saint Mary’s scoring with 23 points. Joshua Dent adds 18 points, six assists, and three steals. An emphatic win to begin Randy Bennett’s 25th season as head coach.
Looking at the 2025–26 non-conference men's basketball schedule for Saint Mary’s (1–0), the Gaels may not have chosen the flashiest names to play, but rather loaded up with a gauntlet of mid-major powers. The first on the docket was the St. Thomas Tommies (0–1), a team picked to win the Summit League after winning 24 games a year ago. In the season opener at Saint Mary’s home court, the Tommies hung around with the Gaels through most of the first half. But a late surge for Saint Mary's heading into the halftime break gave SMC a double-digit lead that they would never relinquish, and they downed St. Thomas 84–58.
The night served up an emphatic win for the beginning of Head Coach Randy Bennett’s 25th season at the helm of the Gaels. This was the first time that the Gaels scored 80+ in a season-opener against a DI opponent since 2021, when they did so against Prairie View A&M. It was the first time St. Thomas has been held under 60 points in a game since the 2023–24 campaign.
Mikey Lewis finished the game with 23 points for Saint Mary’s, matching his career-high set in non-conference play vs. Nebraska last season. Lewis went 7–11 from the field and converted on 4–7 three-point attempts, looking comfortable as the Gaels’ primary bucket getter when called upon. Fellow sophomore Joshua Dent earned his first start and finished with 18 points to go along with six assists, three steals, and no turnovers—leaving no question as to who looks to be next in a line of strong Gaels point guards. Paulius Murauskas rounded out the double-digit scoring for the Gaels, with 17 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three steals, and no turnovers, a stat-sheet stuffing day for the Lithuanian power forward. The only player to record more rebounds than Murauskas was Andrew McKeever, who reeled in 10 off the bench, his first career double-digit rebounding performance. Seven of his 10 boards were of the offensive variety, helping the Gaels to a +6 offensive rebounding advantage and a 10–0 second chance scoring lead.
A Tight First Half with an Exclamation Point
Despite leaving their home turf in St. Paul, Minnesota, and playing in hostile territory, the Tommies came out of the gates hot, playing with a high level of intensity to hang tight with the Gaels. Through the first 19 minutes of the first half, the Gaels never led by more than five points. But over the final minute of the half, Saint Mary’s closed out the frame on an 8–0 run, taking a 35–25 lead into the break. Punctuating the end of the half with an exclamation point, Paulius Murauskas picked up a steal in what could have been the final possession for the half for the Tommies and hurled a half-court pass to Dillan Shaw, who slammed the ball home at the buzzer for his first collegiate bucket.
Mikey Lewis led all scorers at the break, dropping 14 points on 5–7 shooting from the field, and a 3–4 clip from three. Neither Murauskas nor point guard Joshua Dent left the floor in the first half, with the two combining for seven assists, no turnovers, and four steals. The Gaels were able to get a +5 advantage on the offensive, with Andrew McKeever ripping down all five of his boards on the offensive side, leading to a 7–0 second chance scoring discrepancy in favor of the Gaels.
Saint Mary’s Pulls Away
The momentum from the final minute of the first half poured into the second, as the Gaels returned to the maplewood with a 19–8 run to extend their lead out to 21. That lead ballooned to as large as 27 at 80–53 with just under three minutes remaining, and eventually settled at 26. The Tommies never got closer than 19 points over the final 15:25 of the game.
After a first half of being a playmaker, Joshua Dent called his own number a bit more in the second half, dropping 14 points, including a perfect 2–2 clip from beyond the arc, and 6–6 line from the stripe. Paulius Muruaskas added 11 in the second half, missing just one shot from the field, while also pulling down five rebounds. It was hard to find flaws in the Saint Mary's second-half offense: The Gaels shot 8–11 from inside the arc, 7–12 from beyond the arc, and 12–14 from the free-throw line as they pulled away from the Tommies.
You Asked About the Gaels’ Point Guard?
Heading into the 2025–26 season, one of the biggest questions was who would replace back-to-back West Coast Conference Player of the Year Augustas Marciulionis at the point guard position. Joshua Dent answered that question resoundingly with his play Monday night. The sophomore out of Wollongong, New South Wales, only played 83 minutes all of last season, but you wouldn't have been able to tell that from the way he commanded the offense on Monday night.
Half one was all about Dent’s play-making and defensive abilities. Without leaving the floor, he dished out four assists without a turnover, had two steals, and limited his defensive assignments to just two points. In the second half, Dent got more comfortable with calling his own number, scoring 14 of his 18 total points and picking up a pair of additional assists without a turnover. After scoring 14 points all of last season, Dent surpassed that in just one game this year, while also coming up just one assist shy of his season total from all of last season.
Gaels and West Coast Conference hoops fans, get used to the name Joshua Dent!
Keeping the Tommies in Check
A season ago, St. Thomas averaged 83.1 points per game, good for 12th in the nation, and was held under 70 points just five times all year. The Tommies shot 38.7% from three—earning a spot as 11th in the nation for that metric—knocking down 10.4 triples per game on average—good enough for 18th in the country. They returned just under 50% of their scoring from last season, and were picked to win the Summit League. But on Monday night they ran into the buzz saw that is the Saint Mary's defense.
The Gaels held the Tommies to just 58 points, their lowest tally since the 2023–24 campaign, and limited them to just five made threes, also their lowest mark since 2023–24. The Gaels forced 10 St. Thomas turnovers, six of which were steals by Joshua Dent and Paulius Murauskas, who garnered three each. Saint Mary’s turned those turnovers into 14 points en route to victory.
Up Next: Saint Mary’s Hosts Chattanooga
The Gaels welcome Chattanooga, the defending NIT Champs, back to Moraga for the second time in as many years on Friday, November 7. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. at UCU Pavilion. Purchase tickets and watch the game on ESPN+.
Story updated with additional photography November 5, 2025 at 11 a.m. Pacific.
