Field Level Media - Professional sports content solutions | FLM

Paulius Murauskas and Augustas Marciulionis scored 15 points apiece to help No. 19 Saint Mary’s roll to a 74-59 victory over Pepperdine on Monday night in Las Vegas to reach the West Coast Conference championship game.

Luke Barrett added 13 points and eight rebounds in the semifinal clash as the top-seeded Gaels (28-4) won their eighth consecutive game. Saint Mary’s will face either second-seeded Gonzaga or third-seeded San Francisco in the title contest.

Murauskas collected 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season while Marciulionis added seven rebounds and five assists for the Gaels. Mitchell Saxen had nine points and eight rebounds for Saint Mary’s, which is the defending tournament champion.

Moe Odum scored 19 points for the ninth-seeded Waves (13-22) to wrap up a stellar four-game tournament run in which he averaged 21.5 points and 9.3 assists. Odum had three straight double-doubles to lead Pepperdine to three upset victories.

Stefan Todorovic added 10 points for the Waves.

Saint Mary’s went 3-0 against Pepperdine this season, winning by an average of 23 points.

The Gaels shot 50 percent from the field but was a shaky 2 of 13 from 3-point range. Saint Mary’s held a commanding 45-22 rebounding advantage.

The Waves made 39.3 percent of their attempts and were 5 of 18 from behind the arc.

Pepperdine started strong while playing for the fourth straight day and led 18-13 less than eight minutes into the game.

Saint Mary’s answered with 10 straight points to take the lead for good. The margin reached 13 on two free throws by Harry Wessels with 2:15 remaining before the Gaels settled for a 39-29 lead at the break.

Odum scored 12 first-half points for Pepperdine, while Barrett, Marciulionis and Saxen had nine points apiece for Saint Mary’s.

Back-to-back putbacks by Barrett and Murauskas increased the Gaels’ lead to 48-33 with 15:48 left in the game.

Saint Mary’s made it a one-sided affair with a 16-2 burst.

Murauskas capped a string of seven straight points with a basket to make it 59-38 with 12:10 remaining.

After Boubacar Coulibaly’s dunk for Pepperdine, the Gaels scored nine straight points — the last four by Wessels — to make it 68-40 with 7:39 left in the game.

The Waves finished the game with a 14-2 surge to trim the margin of defeat.

–Field Level Media