SEASIDE, Calif. - A clutch 3-pointer by Jordan Kitchen and free throws by EJ Boyce and Luke Chavez secured the 73-70 road victory over Cal State Monterey Bay to begin the Saints' California roadtrip.

After the Saints (3-1) stretched their lead to as large as 15 in the second half, Cal State Monterey Bay (1-4) slowly chipped away until it was a one possession game before a 3-pointer by Kitchen and successful trips to the line by Boyce and Chavez wrapped up the Saints' win.

A jumper by the Otters put them ahead 5-4 in the early goings before Chavez connected on a 3-pointer and Jared Mathews knocked down back-to-back-to-back baskets in the paint to give SMU a 14-4 lead with 15:05 left. The Saints and Otters traded baskets over the course of the next seven minutes with the Saints' lead extending to 29-16 after a Boyce deep ball with 8:49 left in the half.  

Cal State Monterey knocked down two baskets, with Cameron Chatwin responding with a 3-pointer and sparking a Saints' run. Two jumpers in the paint by Kitchen and a 3-pointer by Boyce highlighted the 10-2 run and the 39-22 lead at 4:34 left in the half. The Otters were able to cut the lead back down to single digits before BJ Standley closed out the half with a 3-pointer from Chavez to put SMU up 46-34 at halftime.

Rhett Baerlocher and Kitchen scored in the early minutes of the second half to give Saint Martin's their largest lead of the second half at 51-36 with 18:04 remaining in the game. The Otters began working on the lead, using a 12-4 run to cut the score to 55-48 in only four minutes. Baskets from Kitchen, Standley and Tavian Henderson staved off the Otters comeback attempt over the next six minutes, with Saint Martin's leading 65-56 at the 8:14 mark. 

Back-to-back 3-pointers by the Otters pulled CSUMB to within one possession (65-62) with 7:00 remaining. Matt Dahlen converted a layup in the paint; however, Cal State Monterey Bay continued to attack and cut the score to 67-66 with 4:04 left in the game. 

Kitchen collected an offensive rebound in the following and made the most of it, drilling a 3-pointer and stopped the Otters' momentum. A free throw by Boyce put SMU up 71-66 when CSUMB converted both attempts at their free throw and followed it up by knocking down a layup in the paint. The Saints, leading 71-70 with 55 seconds left, got the ball to Chavez, who was sent to the free throw line with 29 seconds left. Chavez made both of his attempts to give SMU a three point lead. CSUMB had two chances to tie the game in the final seconds; however, the Saints' defense forced two misses and clinched the 73-70 victory.

"Road wins are very hard to come by," said head coach Alex Pribble. "I'm proud of our guys for digging in and finding a way to win down the stretch. Sometimes you have to find a way to win, even if it's a bit ugly, and get stops."

Chavez led the Saints with 14 points and four assists, while Kitchen added 13 points and a team-leading seven rebounds. Henderson delivered 10 points and six rebounds and Standley and Mathews combined for 17 points off the bench. Dahlen recorded nine points, four rebounds and two blocks.

"Credit Monterey Bay for battling back and knocking down some big shots," Pribble said. "I don't think we executed particularly well offensively, and we really had trouble defending them at time in the second half. With that said, it's always better to watch the film and learn lessons after a win than a loss."

As a team, Saint Martin's shot 31-for-60 (51.7 percent) from the field, 7-for-17 (41.2 percent) beyond the arc and 4-for-9 (44.4 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints tallied 31 rebounds, 12 assists on 15 turnovers, three blocks and 12 steals. The Saints controlled the paint, scoring 48 points inside, with 33 coming from the bench, and 16 off turnovers.

"We're going to have to recover and learn quickly, so that we can prepare for a very challenging weekend at Cal Baptist," stated Pribble.

The Saints remain in California, and travel to Riverside for the Cal Baptist Thanksgiving Classic on Friday. SMU will face Academy of Art on Friday at 5:00 p.m. with live stats available on smusaints.com.