Season Ends Against St. Mary’s (Calif.)

CLEVELAND — Jordan Ross scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half Friday to help rally seventh-seeded St. Mary’s (Calif.) to a 59-56 men’s basketball victory over No. 7 seed Vanderbilt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rocket Arena.

The Gaels (26-8) trailed by as many as 12 after the break, but limited the Commodores (20-13) to just one field goal over a nine-minute span after a Tyler Tanner 3-point field goal to get back into the contest.

Ross tied the game on a layup with with 10-and-a-half minutes remaining, then Augustus Marciulionis gave St. Mary’s its first lead since the 15-minute mark of the first half, 46-45, with a 3-pointer from the wing. Jason Edwards would tie the game at 50 with a 3-pointer, but Marciulionis and Luke Barrett answered from beyond the arc to give the Gaels the lead for good.

Marciulionis finished with 14 points and eight rebounds for St. Mary’s, while both Barrett (12 pts, 10 rebs) and Mitchell Saxen (12 pts, 11 rebs) recorded double-doubles. The Gaels posted a 41-28 rebounding advantage, with 10 second-chance points off 10 offensive boards.

Edwards led all scorers with 18 points, and he added a career-high-tying five rebounds. Tyler Nickel chipped in with nine points after connecting on three 3-point field goals, Chris Mañon recorded eight points and Devin McGlockton scored seven, with the latter two sharing team-high honors with seven rebounds each.

The Dores were charged with just four turnovers, and they outscored the Gaels 11-0 on the break.

Vandy finished the 2024-25 campaign with 20 wins for the second time in the last three seasons, earning the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth since 2017.