Gaels give Bennett 500th career win
By no means did career win No. 500 for St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett come easy against USF in Moraga on Thursday.
Difficult as it was, Bennett could savor the 68-59 milestone victory for all of about 500 seconds. That’s because the 18thranked Gaels will host No. 12 Gonzaga on Saturday night with first place in the WCC at stake.
After the game ended, the Gaels gathered at midcourt wearing commemorative Tshirts to celebrate No. 500 with the man who got his first win as the Gaels’ head coach in a 78-64 decision over Sacramento State in Moraga on Nov. 28, 2001.
“I enjoy it and I appreciate it,” Bennett said, “but I’m so locked in on the season. We won tonight, (but) in an hour or two, I’ll flip the script and here comes Gonzaga. We’ll have our hands full with them.”
Bennett, whose career record is 500-204, did reflect on what the milestone meant for him.
“I’m fortunate to have gone through it with really good players and really good coaches,” he said. “I’m not trying to be humble. That’s the way it works.”
The win extended three streaks for the Gaels:
• They’ve won 11 in a row.
• They’ve beaten USF eight straight times, including a 78-61 romp on the Hilltop on Jan. 14.
• They’ve beaten USF 19 straight times in Moraga since the Dons pulled out a 68-67 decision in 2003.
The Gaels (20-4, 9-0) were up by 13 early in the second half but were down 55-53 with 3:50 left and freshman guard Aidan Mahaney at the line for a 1-and-1.
He made the first foul shot and missed the second — but Kyle Bowen grabbed the offensive rebound. Moments later, Mahaney sliced down the left side of the lane for a layup that put St. Mary’s ahead to stay.
Mahaney’s 3-pointer with 1:45 left capped an 8-0 run and made it 61-55. And though Mahaney fouled out with 1:22 left, the Dons (15-10, 4-6) got no closer than four the rest of the way.
St. Mary’s had five players score in double figures as forward Alex Ducas had a gamehigh 18 points. Mahaney had 17, Logan Johnson 12, Augustas Marciulionis 11 and Mitchell Saxen had 10 points and 10 rebounds as the Gaels owned a 3923 edge on the glass.
The Gaels also thrived at the line, going 32-for-37 (86.5%), which offset their cold shooting from the floor, 16-for-49 (32.7%).
Khalil Shabazz led the Dons with 16 points. Marcus Williams had 15.
USF’s Chris Gerlufsen, in his first full season as a head coach, paid tribute to Bennett.
“What an accomplishment for him, a guy who coaches the right way,” Gerlufsen said. “His teams are disciplined. They play it the right way on both sides of the ball. (I’m) not surprised that he’s won 500 games. The names change, but the way they play does not.”
Johnson is in his fourth season with the Gaels.
“I’ve been a part of a lot of big wins here and to be part of something like 500 is something that I’ll talk about with my kids one day, for sure, because it’s that impactful,” Johnson said. “It shows how loyal and how dedicated the school has been to him — and how dedicated and loyal he’s been to the program.”
Said Bennett: “The cool part about doing it at one school is all the relationships you build in your program — and not just your program — but those are the ones that make me the most proud.”
Johnson said he believes St. Mary’s someday should provide tangible evidence of how proud it is of Bennett.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a statue out there. I really think he needs a statue,” Johnson said. “He’s somebody that’s that special in college basketball, and he needs to be recognized for it.”