MONMOUTH, Ore. – The Saints rode their offense to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance; however, it was their defense that lifted them past Cal Poly Pomona, 66-58, in the first round. The Saints held the Broncos to 1-for-21 from beyond the arc while EJ Boyce connected for five 3-pointers and 19 points.
 
The Saints (25-7) found their offense from the two staples of the program, Boyce and Luke Chavez combined for 35 points and eight 3-pointers. Along with high level of bench production from BJ Standley, Tavian Henderson, and Jared Mathews proved to be the key in the Saints' victory.
 
A basket was hard to come by in the opening minutes, with the Saints not connecting on their first field goal of the game until the 16:10 mark when Chavez hit a step back 3-pointer. EJ Boyce hit another 3-pointer to tie the game at 7-7 before Jared Mathews put the Saints on top at 9-7 with 13:51 left.
 
A two-handed slam, plus a foul, along with a 3-pointer by BJ Standley highlighted the 10-0 run that extended the lead to seven. Boyce connected on another 3-pointer to stretch the lead out to as many as eight. The Broncos chipped away at the Saints' lead, dwindling it down to as little as four with 7:57 remaining.
 
After the media timeout, CPPU closed the game to a one-possession game before the Saints responded with a basket by Tavian Henderson and two Boyce free throws. SMU's run continued, and after two free throws by Rhett Baerlocher, the Saints' lead was back at nine with 3:00 minutes left.
 
In the closing minutes of the first half, the Saints continued to put pressure on the Broncos, extending the lead to as many as 13. The Saints defense held strong, limiting CPP to 1-for-10 beyond the arc in the first half, en route to a 32-21 halftime lead.
 
Following a bucket to end the first half, Cal Poly Pomona scored the first four points of the second half, closing the lead to seven. Jordan Kitchen stopped the small run with a second chance tip-in.  Back-to-back 3-pointers highlighted the Saints' 10-2 responds run, extending the lead out to 42-27 with 15:34 remaining.
 
Boyce continued to torch the Broncos' defense, hitting his fifth 3-pointer of the game, and lifted the Saints to a 15 point lead. Cal Poly Pomona continued to struggle against the Saints' defense, while SMU added to their lead. After a nice spin move by Matt Dahlen in the paint, Saints led 50-32 at the 10:00 minute mark.
 
Following the basket by Dahlen, the Broncos answered back quickly, and with force. Cal Poly Pomona scored 12 straight points to close the lead down to 50-44 with six minutes left in the game. Chavez ended the four minute drought with a pair of free throws, before stepping into a 3-pointer, ending the 12-0 run. Within a blink of an eye, the Saints' lead extended back to double-digits with only 4:45 left in the game.
 
However, an NCAA tournament win is never easy, and Cal Poly Pomona began chipping back into the game. With three minutes left in the game, the Saints' lead was down to five points. On the following possession, with the shot clock expiring, Chavez lifted up a prayer, banking off the backboard, and stopping the momentum run by CPP.
 
With 47 seconds left in the game, Dahlen hit the first end of free throws, missing the second; however, Henderson punched the ball out to Chavez. Chavez was fouled and hit both free to extend the Saints' led to eight. The Saints sealed the victory at the free throw line, and eliminated Cal Poly Pomona, 66-58, for their first NCAA tournament win in program history.
 
Boyce led all scorers with 19 points while Chavez added 16 points, and both combined for seven rebounds and five assists. Dahlen and Baerlocher each ended with eight points while Standley, Mathews and Henderson combined for 13 points, 14 rebounds, and six assists.
 
The Saints as a team shot 20-for-44 (45.5 percent) from the field, 9-for-20 (45.0 percent) beyond the arc, and 17-for-26 (65.4 percent) from the free throw line. The Saints recorded 37 rebounds, 12 assists, 16 turnovers, four steals and three blocks.
 
The Saints will face the winner of one seed Western Oregon and eight seed Point Loma, tomorrow, Saturday March 10 at 7:30 p.m.