Gaels’ ‘3 brothers’ ready for Senior Night
About 20 minutes after Logan Johnson scored a game-high 27 points in St. Mary’s 71-65 win over BYU on Saturday night, a reporter prefaced a question to the Gaels’ guard by mentioning how much Johnson means to the St. Mary’s program and how much the program means to Johnson.
Almost immediately after “What do you think is going to be going through your mind Thursday night?” was asked, Johnson replied, “You’re trying to make me emotional right now.”
Yes, emotions figure to be running high Thursday evening when No. 15 St. Mary’s hosts Pacific on Senior Night. The Gaels will honor Johnson and two Australians, forward Kyle Bowen and swingman Alex Ducas, in a pregame ceremony.
Johnson, a St. Francis alum, spent the 2018-19 season at Cincinnati, so the game against the Tigers definitely will be his last inside University Credit Union Pavilion. Because the NCAA granted all players an extra year of eligibility for the pandemic-altered 2020-21 season, Bowen and Ducas could return for a fifth season in 2023-24.
In a joint phone interview Tuesday afternoon, each man said he would make his decision about next season after this one ends.
Bowen, Ducas and Johnson have started every game the past two seasons. In that time, the Gaels have gone 50-13 (25-4 in WCC play), earned a No. 5 seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament and are in line for a similar seed in this year’s event.
“All three of those guys have done so much for our program,” St. Mary’s head coach Randy Bennett said.
• Bowen is a quintessential “glue guy.” His career scoring average is 4.2 points per game, but he routinely — and aggressively — guards the opponent’s top forward and ranks fifth in the WCC in rebounds per game (7.5).
• Ducas owns a sweet shooting stroke and has improved both on taking the ball to the basket and on defense. He ranks 10th in St. Mary’s history in career 3-pointers (183) and has a chance to pass fellow Aussie Tanner Krebs (198) for the fifth spot in the coming weeks.
• Johnson, who’s lefthanded, thrives on forays down the lane and can finish creatively with either hand. At 13.8 ppg this season, he ranks second on the team to freshman Aidan Mahaney (15.1), and Johnson leads the Gaels in assists (104) and steals (45). He is fifth on the school’s career steals list (141).
“I think we complement each other so well on the court,” Bowen said.
They’ve become tight off it as well.
“We’re going to leave here as three brothers,” Bowen said. “It’s bigger than basketball. It’s family.”
Bowen and Ducas each went to the Centre of Excellence in Australia. They’re part of the Australian pipeline to Moraga;
23 Aussies — most notably Patty Mills, Matthew Dellavedova and Jock Landale — have been on Gaels’ rosters in Bennett’s 22 seasons.
“That was a really big piece of my decision to come to St. Mary’s,” Ducas said, “knowing that I had that backbone of Australians who came before me and obviously have been successful in this program.”
Said Bowen: “I’m just glad that we played our part and represented our country the right way, the way that our country plays basketball, which is hardnosed, back against the wall.”
The Gaels can clinch a share of the WCC regular-season title by beating Pacific. That adds another
layer to the plot.
“Those Senior Nights are tricky games,” Bennett said, “and these three guys are wired emotionally; they’re emotional guys. I’ve seen guys have tough nights.”
Bennett then mentioned center Omar Samhan as someone who rose to the occasion on his Senior Night. Samhan had 33 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in an 88-80 win over LMU on Feb. 27, 2010.
“It was ridiculous,” Bennett said, “and he was tearing up before the game. You have to channel those emotions somehow, so that you play well for your team.”
Bowen believes he, Ducas and Johnson are “three guys who play with our emotions every night. So it’s going to be obviously a bit more amplified and enhanced, but it’s what we do when we play with our hearts on our sleeves.
“I don’t think it’s going to be a
problem for any (of the) three of us. I think, if anything, it’s going to make us play better.”
Ducas said he’ll make it a point to take in the pregame atmosphere, especially the fans and St. Mary’s staff members who’ve supported him and his teammates the past four seasons.
“It’s going to be important to sit back and say a few more hellos and stuff like that,” Ducas said, “just to make sure you let everyone know you’re appreciative of the time they give you and things they do for you.”
Said Johnson: “Obviously, emotions are going to be running high, being the last time you play an official game in that building, but it’s all about the legacy you leave here and I’ve felt like we’ve left this place in a great place — and it’s only going to get better.”