Chavez
80
Winner Saint Martin's SMU 6-1, 1-0 GNAC
75
Central Wash. CWU 3-3, 0-1 GNAC
Winner
Saint Martin's SMU
6-1, 1-0 GNAC
80
Final
75
Central Wash. CWU
3-3, 0-1 GNAC
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Saint Martin's SMU 29 51 80
Central Wash. CWU 39 36 75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Austin Byrnes

Saints Complete Double-Digit Comeback Victory At Central Washington

ELLENSBURG, Wash. – Trailing by double-digits in the second half, Luke Chavez's 21 second half points lifted the Saints in an epic 80-75 comeback victory over Central Washington, on the road, to open GNAC play.
 
The Saints (5-1, 1-0) battled back from down 13 to tie the game at 60-60, before finishing off the Wildcats (3-3, 0-1) in the final minutes 80-75. Reining GNAC Player of the Week, Chavez, posted a new career-high 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting with four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
 
Offense struck early in the opening minutes of the game, with the scored tied at 8-8. Luke Chavez and EJ Boyce knocked down 3-pointers to kick start SMU's offense. The Saints took their first lead, 9-8, on a free throw by Matt Dahlen with 16:10 left in the first half.
 
Central Washington regain the lead at 15-13 before SMU responded with a 6-0 run with baskets by Jared Mathews, Jordan Kitchen and Tavian Henderson to take back the 17-15 lead with 12:31 remaining.
 
The Wildcats rallied, scoring the next eight points and holding the Saints to without a field goal for over three minutes. Chavez ended the drought by knocking down a jumper to trim the lead to 26-20 with 9:07 left in the first half. However, the Saints' offensive struggles continued as they scored three points from the 12:20 to 3:27 mark and CWU gained control of the game, 33-22.
 
Boyce connected on a ball from deep and Dahlen's layup gave Saint Martin's some momentum as they went into the locker room, with Central Washington leading 39-29.
 
Central Washington extended their lead to 13 before the Saints countered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Chavez to cut the score to 43-36 with 17:22 left. The Wildcats held off the Saints' attempts and pushed the lead out to 11 multiple times before Chavez started the Saints' comeback.
 
Chavez scored 12 of the Saints' first 17 points in the second half, as the Wildcats' dwindled to 51-46 with 11:06 left in the second half. After a Wildcat bucket, Standley converted in the lane and a pair of free throws by Baerlocher and Standley brought SMU to within 56-52 with 9:01 left.
 
Chavez knocked down two more free throws and then Mathews found an open Chavez for a 3-pointer on the fast break to pull Saint Martin's within 58-57 with 7:39 remaining. A pair of free throws put CWU up 60-57, before a Mathews' free throw and Chavez second chance layup tied the game at 60-60. The Saints stopped the Wildcats on the defensive end and Baerlocher put SMU back on top 62-60, with 5:45 left, their first lead since the 12:20 mark in the first half.
 
The Saints' defense continued to provide stops and a layup by Dahlen extended the lead, on back-to-back baskets, to 66-61 with 3:38 remaining in the game. Henderson stretched the lead to seven on a dunk and a Baerlocher jumper helped give SMU a 70-63 lead with 1:58 remaining.
 
However, the Wildcats began chipping away at the lead in the final minutes, a layup and one cut the score to 70-66 with 39 seconds left. The Wildcats sent Chavez to the line, who calmly hit both and on the following possession, Dahlen recorded the steal and a dunk by Henderson sealed the epic 80-75 comeback victory. The win marked the fifth consecutive victory for Saint Martin's.

"This was a very important game for us," said head coach Alex Pribble. "We came out of the gate without the focus we needed to compete. Our guys learned that if we're not prepared, we won't have success. Credit CWU, they were ready to go. With that said, our guys showed tremendous resilience. They stuck together on the road and found a way to get it done. I'm very proud of their response in the second half tonight."
 
Chavez topped his career-high, set last week, with 30 points on 11-for-18 shooting and 4-for-8 beyond the arc. Dahlen added 10 points and a team-leading six rebounds while Boyce finished with 10 points and five assists. Henderson and Standley both provided eight points off the bench and combined for five rebounds, three assists and one steal.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 28-for-55 (50.9 percent) from the floor, 6-for-22 (27.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 18-for-28 (64.3 percent) at the line. In the second half, the Saints scored 51 points on 16-for-31 (51.6 percent) shooting and 16-for-21 (76.2 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 36 rebounds, 20 assists on 16 turnovers with three blocks and eight steals.
 
Saint Martin's travels to Nampa, Idaho to face Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, December 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. with live stats and video links available on smusaints.com.
 
 
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