Saint Mary’s falls at USF 65-64 in WCC basketball showdown

SAN FRANCISCO – Unbeaten streaks were on the line Thursday night as Saint Mary’s and USF delivered a thriller inside War Memorial Gym.

The Gaels entered 10-0 in West Coast Conference action, and the Dons owned a 14-0 record on their home court. Only USF kept its streak alive, rallying from an 11-point deficit to prevail 65-64.

Saint Mary’s (20-4, 10-1) had won 15 consecutive road games — the nation’s longest active streak – and 10 straight overall games.

“It was a good basketball environment, a good game, and that’s what we’re going to see all the way out,” said coach Randy Bennett, whose Gaels next play Saturday at Oregon State.

Saint Mary’s had a chance to pull out a road win just as they did Saturday night at Gonzaga. But once Mikey Lewis’ 3-point attempt missed in the final seconds, the second-place Dons (19-6, 9-3) owned a massive WCC victory.

It was fitting that Saint Mary’s final shot was an errant yet open 3-pointer. The Gaels were just 3-of-23 from 3-point range, although Paulius Murauskas made good from there with 13 seconds remaining to pull Saint Mary’s within 65-64.

“We’ve got to shoot the ball better. We can’t go 3-for-23 and expect to beat anybody good,” Bennett said. “We didn’t defend wells enough in the second half, and we didn’t shoot the ball well, and we got beat on the boards.”

Augustus Marciulionis, the reigning WCC player of the year, scored 21 points, but he struggled mightily from 3-point range. He was 2-of-12 from 3-point range.

USF had four players score in double figures: Marcus Williams (16 points), Ryan Beasley (12), Malik Thomas (11) and Carlton Kinguard (11).

Once Saint Mary’s took a 48-37 lead with 11 1/2 minutes remaining on Paulius Murauskas’ 3-point play, the Dons gathered themselves to consider the consequences.

“When we were down 11 and in the timeout, we talked about how nobody comes in here and steals from us in our own house,” USF coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “I don’t know if that kind of rattled the guys or refocused them, but we take great pride in winning here. … That was a fun last 10 minutes to be a part of, for sure.”

Williams capped his scoring with a turnaround jumper – after a Marciulionis miss – to give the Dons a 63-59 lead. After Marciulionis’ final miss from atop the key, Murauskas sank two free throws to make it 63-61 with 45 seconds left.

USF had 38 rebounds to Saint Mary’s 35 and kept alive late possessions with timely efforts to fetch missed shots.

“That was the No. 1 goal. If we didn’t win the rebound margin, we wouldn’t have won the game,” Linguard said.

Air balls from 3-point range by Marciulionis and Murauskas fed into USF’s second-half comeback. Luke Barrett drew a flagrant foul after a Tyron Riley steal kept the momentum on USF’s side. Riley made 1-of-2 free throws, then 20 seconds later converted on a 3-point play to put USF ahead 55-54.

Among those inside the packed house and sitting courtside were three-time NBA champion Bill Cartwright and new San Francisco mayor Daniel Lurie.

“It’s a great win, at home and we continue to protect home floor,” Gerlufsen said. “This is one of the best places to play in the country. People have gotten behind that and they lift us.”

Two weeks after routing USF 71-41 in Moraga, the Gaels took a 34-29 lead into halftime, but only after finishing the half on a 6-0 run. Capping that half was a Mitchell Saxen breakaway dunk off a Marciulionis steal.

Saxen finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds; Murauskas had 12 points, half of what he produced in Saint Mary’s previous meeting with USF.

Last meeting, the Dons made just 26.9% of their field-goal attempts, including 0-for-10 beyond the 3-point arc after halftime. This game, USF made 43.9% (25-of-57) of its field-goal attempts, though just 5-of-16 from 3-point range.

At halftime, Marciulionis had 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, though he was just 1-of-6 from 3-point range.

“He’s one of the best point guards in the country,” Gerlufsen said. “He plays with great pace, and when you allow him to get comfortable to see the whole floor, he’ll score and pick you apart.

“In the second half, we got back to what the defensive game plan, and he missed some threes. He got a little gunshy shooting the ball in the second half and in some regards we probably caught them on the right night.”

USF trailed until Junjie Wang’s 3-pointer at the top of the key tied the score at 20, then Malik Thomas put the Dons in front for the first time, 28-26, with a layup 3:30 minutes before halftime.

Saint Mary’s trailed only 43 seconds in that first half, however. Last Saturday, Saint Mary’s rallied in the second half to claim a 62-58 win at Gonzaga to keep alive its road winning streak.

Murauskas, after scoring a game-high 24 points in their last meeting, did not take a shot in the first half of this rematch. Murauskas opened the second half with a shot – and a basket—for a 36-29 lead.