Gaels move into sole possession of first place in WCC
St. Mary's spent backto-back Saturdays on the road, facing Bay Area rivals with sole possession of first place in the WCC at stake.
Consider those Saturdays resounding successes for the Gaels. They handed USF its first home loss of the season in a 7760 romp one week after humbling Santa Clara 7349. The Gaels (14-6, 5-0) did not trail in either game.
“We played really well at Santa Clara and we played really well tonight,” St. Mary's head coach Randy Bennett said in what can be construed as an understatement. “Sometimes, you've to got to shoot the ball well and we did. And, we did a good job defensively and we were good on the boards.”
Against the Dons (15-5, 4-1), St. Mary's held a double-digit lead for the entire second half. The Gaels got 22 points from guard Aidan Mahaney, 21 points and 10 rebounds from forward Joshua Jefferson, and 16 points (on 7-for-8 shooting) and eight boards (six offensive) from center Mitchell Saxen.
Jefferson, a 6-foot-8 sophomore who was used sparingly as a freshman, has become a much more confident, effective player over the past six weeks.
“I didn't play a lot last year,” Jefferson said in a postgame interview with the Chronicle. “So, it took me a little bit of time to get used to my role and getting used to what I'm good at again. I think I'm finding my groove.”
Jefferson certainly found the groove from long range. He went 4for-5 from beyond the arc against the Dons. He entered Saturday 8-for-44 this season.
The Gaels owned a 41-24 edge on the boards. They entered Saturday second in the nation in rebounding margin at +12.2. They also dominated in 3-point shooting, going 11-for-23 (47.8%) from long range and holding the Dons to 2for-17 (11.8%) shooting from long distance.
USF head coach Chris Gerlufsen called the Gaels “a hard team to play catchup on, with the pace they play at. So, all credit to them. I thought they beat us in every facet of the game.”
St. Mary's has won six straight and 11 of its past 12, and the Gaels improved to 5-0 in true road games. The Dons' winning streak ended at seven games and they had been 10-0 on the Hilltop this season before Saturday.
Forward Jonathan Mogbo has been the main man for the Dons. He had put together double-doubles in each of the previous five games and was averaging 15.6 points and 10.7 rebounds. The Gaels held him to 11 points and six boards, including three and three in the first half.
The Gaels bolted to a 19-7 lead in the first seven minutes, going 6-for-6 from beyond the arc. Jefferson had three of those treys, Mahaney two and Alex Ducas the other.
St. Mary's NET ranking improved from 30 on Saturday to 22 on Sunday. USF's fell from 42 to 54. The Dons' best win is a 7658 decision over Minnesota (NET: 99) at Chase Center — technically a neutral site — on Nov. 26. USF is 0-4 in Quad 1 games, considered the toughest.
The Gaels are 3-3 in Quad 1 games, with wins at home over New Mexico (NET: 25) and at Colorado State (26) and at USF.
In early December, the Gaels — who were No. 23 in the preseason AP poll — were sitting at 3-5, having dropped five of their previous six games. At that point, did Bennett have doubts that his team could make such a pronounced turnaround?
“We weren't panicking,” Bennett said. “Our whole talk track with our players is one step at a time, one punch at a time, one round at a time — and that's what we were talking about when we were 3-5.
“Just have some hope, just keep working, keep getting better. Things will work out.”
Briefly: Freshman guard Ryan Beasley, a Dougherty Valley-San Ramon alum, led the Dons with 17 points. … St. Mary's guard Augustas Marciulionis had nine points, seven assists and nine rebounds. … The Dons play at Gonzaga (13-5, 4-1) on Thursday night. The Gaels host Pacific (6-14, 0-5).