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Paulius Murauskas’ 3-point shot leads Saint Mary’s past Utah

Paulius Murauskas’ 3-point shot leads Saint Mary’s past Utah

NCAA Basketball: St. Mary's at UtahDecember 7, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; St. Mary’s Gaels guard Jordan Ross (2) drives against Utah Utes guard Mason Madsen (45) during the first half at the Jon M. Huntsman Center. Mandatory attribution: Rob Gray-Imagn Images

Paulius Murauskas finished with 29 points and a game-winning 3-pointer that helped Saint Mary’s to a 72-63 victory over Utah on Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Murauskas made 6 of 10 from 3-point territory, including a clutch trey with 28 seconds left that ended the Utes’ second-half rally. The sophomore made 10 of 15 field goals overall and grabbed seven rebounds.

Augustas Marciulionis added 10 points with eight assists as the Gaels (9-1) won their first true road game of the season.

Gabe Madsen scored 15 points and Miro Little totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, but Utah (6-2) couldn’t overcome a deficit that reached 21 points early in the second half.

Saint Mary’s led 46-25 with 17:55 left in the second half after Mitchell Saxon made a layup and Marciulionis made two free throws.

Utah rebounded with a 13-0 run that Madsen capped with seven straight points to make the game a six-point game.

Caleb Lohner, a tight end on the Utah football team whose college career began on the hardwood at BYU and continued at Baylor, also had a hit in the series. He finished his first game with the Utes with eight points.

Lohner’s layup at 4:05 cut Saint Mary’s lead to 57-55.

Murauskas responded with two 3-pointers and a free throw in a two-minute span to give Saint Mary’s a 66-59 lead with 1:57 left.

In the final minute, after Lawson Lovering’s jump shot cut the deficit back to five, Murauskas beat the shot clock to knock down a clutch goal with 28 seconds left.

Saint Mary’s went up by 18 points in the first half before Ezra Ausar scored four points in a 6-0 Utah run to make it a 12-point game.

The Utes then struggled early in the break, going scoreless 4:20 into the final, while Saint Mary’s took a 39-22 halftime lead.

Utah shot just 23.5 percent in the first half, including 2 of 10 from 3-point range. The Utes, who entered the contest ranked first in the nation with 21.3 assists per game, had just four assists in the first half before finishing with 14.

–Field level media

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