Saint Mary’s (11-1, 21-4)

Saint Mary’s had mixed results this week, with a victory against Oregon State on Saturday and a loss against San Francisco on Thursday.

Against the Beavers, the Gaels were focused coming off their first conference loss and suffocated Oregon State into submission.

SMC’s defense took control of the game early and Augustas Marciulionis did everything else. Marciulionis scored 16 points in the first half and finished with 18 points, six rebounds, ten assists, and four steals.

The Gaels held the Beavers to their lowest-0scoring output of the season at 49. This is only the second time OSU has been beaten on their home court this season.

On Thursday, Saint Mary’s lost a tough matchup against their cross-Bay rival the Dons. The game proved a tight affair with SMC holding an 11-point lead midway through the second half.

San Francisco went on a run from there, but ultimately the game came down to a missed Mikey Lewis three as time expired on the Gaels final possession.

SMC hosts Washington State on Saturday and Santa Clara tonight.

Notes:

• Paulius Murauskas is Saint Mary’s second-leading scorer averaging 12.5 points per game.
• Augustas Marciulionis scored 33 points in the first half this week.
• Ashton Hardaway is the son of former NBA Player Anfernee “Penny” Hardaway.

Gonzaga (9-3, 18-7)

After a concerning month, Gonzaga was able to grab two much-needed victories this week. The Bulldogs won both of their games in blowouts, they knocked off Pacific on Saturday and Loyola Marymount on Thursday.

The Zags led the entire game against the Tigers except for the first 21 seconds. GU took a 15-point lead into the break and put the game away swiftly in the second half.

They led by 28 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Braden Huff led the squad with 17 points.

Against the Lions, the Bulldogs struggled to find their rhythm and trailed with just under 10 and a half minutes to play. Gonzaga then went on a massive 28-5 run and took a decisive lead from there.

GU ended up winning by 20 points. It was a solid win for the Zags. LMU entered the contest having won five in a row and a loss for Gonzaga would’ve been catastrophic.

Khalif Battle led the Bulldogs with 24 points. GU hosts San Francisco and Pepperdine this week, Gonzaga can leapfrog the Dons for second place with a win.

Notes:

• Ryan Nembhard broke Gonzaga’s assists in a season record for the second year in a row.
• Graham Ike leads the Zags in scoring with 17.0 points per game.
• Khalif Battle is 6th in the nation with a free throw percentage of 93.20.

Oregon State (7-5, 17-8)

Oregon State suffered a tolerable loss against Saint Mary’s on Saturday and got a nice victory against Washington State on Thursday.

On Saturday, The Beavers faced off against an angry Gaels squad who was coming off their first conference loss. OSU scored the first four points of the matchup, but Saint Mary’s controlled the game the rest of the way.

The Beavs did a good job keeping the score close but couldn’t get over the hill. Isaiah Sy led Oregon State with 10 points.

Against the Cougars, The Beavers played a solid game throughout. The Cougs jumped out to an early lead, but OSU responded quickly closing the gap to one point at the break.

Oregon State started the second half hot scoring seven straight points and took an early six-point lead. With just over four minutes left, the Beavers’ lead was cut to one.

Michael Rataj took over down the stretch hitting two key shots helping to secure the victory for OSU.

The Beavers schedule lightens up a bit this week, as they travel to Portland and then host Pacific.

Notes:

• Isaiah Sy scored 19 points this week, his best total since the opening week of conference play.
• Oregon State has nine international players on their roster representing eight countries.
• Nate Kingz is Oregon State’s second-leading scorer averaging 12.0 points per game.

Washington State (6-7, 16-10)

Washington State broke their five-game losing streak on Saturday with a phenomenal last-second victory against Pepperdine. On Thursday, the Cougars struggled a bit, as they fell against Oregon State in Corvallis.

WSU’s win against the Waves saved their season from falling off the road. The Cougs were trailing by five points with 79 seconds before going on a 9-1 run.

LeJuan Watts made a pivotal layup with 11 seconds left to give the Cougars their first lead since the opening minutes of the matchup.

On the final possession of the game, Ethan Price blocked Pepperdine’s final three-point attempt securing a one-point win for Washington State.

Against the Beavers, WSU led early, but couldn’t make enough big plays in crunch time. The Cougs only trailed by one point with 4:06 left. Nate Calmese led Washington State with 25 points.

The Cougars only have one game against Saint Mary’s this week, and a win would add credibility to their resume.

Notes:

• LeJuan Watts leads Washington State with 7.9 rebounds per game.
• Nate Calmese scored a combined 41 points this week.
• WSU’s communications program is named after the late Edward R. Murrow (Murrow College of Communication).