After their 3-5 start, the Gaels went on to win 23 of 25 games to finish the year.
Saint Mary’s Augustas Marciulionis, left, Aiden Mahaney, Alex Ducas, and their teammates work on defense drills during practice at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, Calif., on Thursday, March 19, 2024. The Gaels practiced before they depart Wednesday for their NCAA Tournament game on Thursday in Spokane. Fifth-year senior Alex Ducas was battling through injuries. Junior guard Augustas Marciulionis was failing to fill the void created by Logan Johnson’s departure.
And it happened just like that. The Gaels won 23 of their last 25 games, capturing a WCC regular season title and a WCC Tournament title to earn an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament. Mahaney said the Gaels needed to find their leaders after losing Johnson and Kyle Bowen to graduation. He credits Jefferson with “kicking it into gear” to put together an explosive sophomore campaign in which he averaged 10 points and 6.5 rebounds per game before he suffered a knee injury that has kept him out since early February.
Ducas has gotten healthier as the year has gone on, Mahaney and Marciulionis started to thrive mid-season and Mitchell Saxen has given the Gaels a dominant inside force as they put together another successful season.
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