26-7; 15-1, West Coast Conference regular season champions
It was the worst of times; then it was the best of times.
Entering this season, expectations were as high as they had ever been for Saint Mary’s basketball. Things didn’t go well to start. The Gaels wobbled out to a 3-5 start, but as tends to happen in a program as rock-solid as the one which head coach Randy Bennett has built, the Gaels figured themselves out.
Beginning on December 5, Saint Mary’s ripped off 21 wins over their last 22 games on the schedule, including 16 straight. After trading off the ‘1-A’ and ‘1-B’ roles that they’ve spent the past decade swapping with Gonzaga, the Gaels stayed so hot that they outpaced the Zags for this year’s West Coast Conference regular season crown. Saint Mary’s, as a basketball program, knows exactly who they are and what they’re about: and what they’re about most of all is victory.
The biggest individual reason that expectations were what they were this fall was the return of last year’s freshman star, Aidan Mahaney. With a quick and smooth release off the dribble or receiving passes coming off of screens, Mahaney had already proven to be a dangerous marksman right out of the box. He knocked down multiple three’s in a game 21 times in his rookie year, and firmly established himself as a player opposing defenses needed to game-plan for every night. Thing is, when thrust into the #1 role this year, Mahaney struggled a bit. Mahaney is not a ball-dominating volume scorer; he’s a sniper. After that has sunk in a bit and things settled down around him, Mahaney has steadied. He is generally composed and shows good instincts for making the smart, safe play, and his threat to launch spaces the Gaels’ attack. He led the WCC in made triples for the season in an All-WCC campaign, and since the calendar turned to 2024, Mahaney has made an excellent 41.7% of his triple tries.
One of the hallmarks of this program has been that younger players have consistently made significant leaps from first to second or second to third season under Bennett. With that in mind, the Gaels expected big things this season from not just Mahaney, but his backcourt running mate, Augustus Marčiulionis. While Mahaney wrested the fifth starter’s role away from Marčiulionis a year ago, Marčiulionis got one over on his backcourt buddy this winter: he won the WCC’s Player of the Year award.
A bigger point guard, Marčiulionis is a strong defender who can guard ball-handlers, off-guards and a decent number of wing players with equal effectiveness, which allows Bennett to play around with matchups and not wear Mahaney out guarding bigger opponents. While Marčiulionis is not the outside shooter that many Gaels guards have been, he enjoys driving towards the rim and can finish in traffic. He’s equally happy kicking out to open teammates if he can’t get a bucket, and made smart decisions this year in finishing second in the WCC in assists. The son of former International and NBA great Šarūnas Marčiulionis, the younger Marčiulionis is a creative passer who shows a good overall feel for running offense and has developed real confidence with the ball in his hands.
Despite being nowhere near the top of anyone’s recruiting rankings a few years ago, center Mitchell Saxen has developed nicely. His face-up game is not yet as dangerous as some, but Saxen knows how to create the space with which he can operate near the rim, and has shown solid footwork and a decisive attitude when given the ball down low. Even if he can’t get a shot off, Saxen knows to keep the ball high and out of trouble, and he plays very hard. After not showing a lot his first two seasons, Saxen has even begun to make some nifty pases out of double-teams, and is aware of where his team’s shooters are. While Saxen doesn’t possess tremendous natural athleticism, his relentless attitude makes him an effective defender and rim protector. The Gaels are an extremely effective rebounding team overall. They rank top three in America in both offensive and defensive rebound rate: and Saxen has a whole lot of say in those gaudy figures.
Alex Ducas is another in the long line of successful Australian imports to Moraga, CA. The fifth-year marksman has already had an outstanding career, racking up titles and ripping off three-balls. He is, quite simply, a winning basketball player. Last year, Ducas set new career highs in virtually every statistical category, and is a career 40% shooter from three. This year, he tied Mahaney for the conference lead in made triples. Ducas doesn’t force anything and is wonderfully savvy on offense. He can distribute the ball but doesn’t need to have it in his hands much offensively: it really just needs to get to him so that he can let fly. Ducas is also one of the Gaels’ defensive leaders, and he uses his length very well against a variety of opponents. He isn’t explosive, but can hang with just about anybody. When his athleticism doesn’t do it, his positioning and intelligence will. And when all else fails, Ducas is tougher than most
After redshirting his first season in order to become fully healthy, Harvard transfer Mason Forbes joined the Gaels this season. He’s an experienced player with good size who had been working on a career-best season two years ago when he got hurt, and his years with the Crimson were interrupted by a few different injuries. Forbes can guard a variety of frontcourt players, though, and is more than happy to rotate over and block a shot or jump a pass. When he gets the ball, he goes straight to the rim. With highly skilled breakout sophomore Joshua Jefferson out for the rest of the year due to injury, Forbes has seen his role expand late in the season, and Bennett needs Forbes to be at his best for the Tournament. Harry Wessels, like Ducas and a great many memorable Gaels over the years, hails from Australia. Unlike many other people in general, he stands over seven feet tall. Bennett has developed some excellent bigs over the years, and Wessels has the unteachable size that coaches crave. He’s acquitted himself well as the reserve center this year, and posted a team-high 17.6% rate on snagging offensive rebounds.
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