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.
The Gaels had a chance to pull out a road win just as they did Saturday night at Gonzaga. But once Mikey Lewis’ 3-point attempt failed to find the net 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 a missed 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.
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).
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.
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
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.
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.
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