Paulius Murauskas was limping around for a couple recent Saint Mary’s games, held to a single point in limited minutes while playing on a sprained ankle in victories over Oregon State and Santa Clara.
It’s fair to suggest the 6-foot-8 sophomore is feeling better. He scored a career-high 30 points against Washington State last Saturday and on Wednesday night he had 20 more in a 70-66 victory over Portland as the Gaels prepped for a showdown against Gonzaga on Saturday night at Spokane, Washington.
Asked about Murauskas scoring 50 points in two games, coach Randy Bennett was giddy. “I’ll take it,” he said. “He got some rebounds, too.”
Yep, 21 of them, boosting his season total of double-doubles to 11, most by a Saint Mary’s player since current NBA player Jock Landale had 18 in 2017-18.
Saint Mary’s Paulius Murauskas (23) shoots past Utah State’s Jordy Barnes (5) in the first half of their game at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024. Utah State defeated Saint Mary College 75-68. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Senior point guard Augustas Marciulionis, the reigning West Coast Conference Player of the Year, is the Gaels’ most important player. Senior center Mitchell Saxen, the WCC’s Defensive Player of the Year last season, is their backbone in the paint.
But Murauskas, a transfer from Arizona and a fellow Lithuanian countryman to Marciulionis, has been a critical X-factor at power forward, where the Gaels were in need of reinforcements after Alex Ducas, Joshua Jefferson and Mason Forbes all departed from last year’s 26-8 team that earned a third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
It was Marciulionis who basically sold Murauskas on Saint Mary’s.
“He recruited me, you could say that,” Murauskas said. “I was talking to him about how everything is here. He said it’s a really good place to be. Coach is going to coach you hard and trust it.”
Marciulionis made it happen, Bennett confirmed. “Augustas is a big deal in Lithuania,” he said. “Paulius definitely valued that and wanted to be in a situation where that could happen for him. He wanted minutes and he wanted to be at a place that could win.”
Bennett rarely has had such an easy recruiting job. “He wasn’t a star yet,” Bennett said. “He had to get here to be one.”
And he has helped put the Gaels (24-4, 14-1 WCC) on the doorstep of a second straight outright WCC regular-season championship — something they have never done. A win Saturday night at Gonzaga (21-7, 12-3) would clinch it, giving Saint Mary’s a three-game lead with two to play.
Saint Mary’s Paulius Murauskas (23) battles Pacific Tigers’ Elias Ralph (2) and Pacific Tigers’ Elijah Fisher (22) for a loose ball in the first half of their game at St. Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., on Saturday, Dec. 28, 2024. Saint Mary College defeated the Pacific Tigers 70-60. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)
Murauskas contributed 12 points and eight rebounds to Saint Mary’s 62-58 home victory over the Zags on Feb. 1. Now he gets to experience The Kennel for the first time. “I know it’s a tough place to play,” he acknowledged.
It’s tough enough that Saint Mary’s hasn’t beaten the Zags on the road two years in a row since 1989 and ’90. The Gaels haven’t swept Gonzaga home and road in the same season in nine years. But having also earned a share of the 2023 crown with Gonzaga, they have a chance to secure at least a tie for a third straight conference crown for the first time in program history.
Murauskas, who is averaging 13.0 points and a WCC-best 8.3 rebounds, has had a big hand in the Gaels’ success.
“We knew his capabilities as a scorer as soon as he got on campus and we were playing open gym,” Marciulionis said. “Mentally, he has grown so much to be composed, be tough, to defend. I’m very happy for him. I think he can get even better than he is today.”
“Coach has given me trust so I’m just enjoying it,” Murauskas said. “I think I’m getting better and better.”
So does his coach, although Bennett admitted there has been a learning curve.
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“He’s talented but he’s had to learn how to play,” Bennett said. “His role is obviously as a scorer and a heavy minutes guy. And he had not done that. To do that on a team that’s expected to win most nights is tough.”
Early in the season at times Bennett would pull Murauskas from the game because he wasn’t getting it done on defense or ball movement would stall when it got to him. “He’s learned and is learning to be able to be that guy and the ball doesn’t stick,” Bennett said.
Murauskas, who turned 21 last week, appreciates the tough coaching and sounds like he’s found a home.
“I love it here. Everything is good,” said Murauskas, who lives 5 minutes off campus with his wife, Ugne, and their 2-year-old daughter, Sofia. “I’m just happy my family is here. I can see my daughter every day.”
“He’s a little bit different than your average sophomore,” Bennett said. “He’s a really good dad and really good husband. It’s funny because he’s just a kid still. But he’s got man responsibilities with his family.”
And his team.
