By MICHAEL WAGAMAN
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) — Augustas Marciolionis scored 25 points and No. 23 Saint Mary’s won its seventh straight, 74-64 over Oregon State on Saturday night.
Marciolionis, the son of Hall of Famer Sarunas Marciolionis, made four 3-pointers and shot 7 of 12 overall to lead the regular-season champion Gaels (27-4, 17-1 West Coast Conference) in their final tune-up before the conference tournament this week. It’s the best conference record in Saint Mary’s history.
Luke Barrett had 13 points and nine rebounds for Saint Mary’s. Mitchell Saxen, who recently became the Gaels’ career leader for games, had 12 points and 11 rebounds in his final home game.
The Gaels have won at least a share of the conference title each of the past three seasons.
Parsa Fallah scored 14 points for Oregon State. The Beavers (20-11, 10-8) beat the Gaels this season at home but couldn’t duplicate the feat on the road. Michael Rataj and Liu Lelevicius each scored 12 points.
Takeaways
Oregon State: Coach Wayne Tinkle’s team established a strong physical presence in the key early but didn’t have the perimeter shooting (3 of 12 3-pointers) to balance things out.
Saint Mary’s: It wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game but the Gaels are clicking at the right time with the conference tournament beginning this week.
Key moment
After Oregon State closed within four points and had the ball with seven minutes remaining in the second half, Marciulionis made steal and was fouled. He made both free throws and Saint Mary’s led comfortably the rest of the way.
Key stat
Saint Mary’s didn’t attempt a free throw in the first half, then went 19 of 23 in the second.
Up next
Both teams next play in the West Coast Conference tournament beginning Friday in Las Vegas.