SEATTLE, Wash. – Five Saints, led by Tyler Copp's 17, scored in double-digits to power SMU past Seattle Pacific 80-77 and extend their winning streak to four, on the road in a critical GNAC game on Thursday.

The Saints (15-10, 9-8 GNAC) captured the lead on a 20-3 run to end the first half and never relinquished the advantage for the remainder of the game. The Falcons (11-14, 7-10) trimmed the score to 75-74 with 1:17 left in the game, before a 3-Poniter from Brandon Kenilvort and key offensive rebound from Fred Jorg sealed the 80-77 victory for the Saints.

The Falcons jumped out to an early lead on a 11-0 run and maintained a 24-17 edge with 9:12 remaining in the first half.

SMU quickly responded with a 20-3 run that began with a bucket from deep by Trey Ingram and ended on Jorg layup. Five different Saints contributed in the run, including six points from Tyler Copp, Baerlocher's 3-Pointer and a bucket from Preston. The Saints held a 36-27 edge at halftime.

Saint Martin's continued their hot shooting by beginning the second half on a 11-5 run, highlighted by a breakaway dunk and an-one from Jordan Kitchen. The Saints lead grew to the largest of the game, 47-32, with 17:19 left in the game.

After trading buckets back-and-forth for the next five minutes, the Falcons began slowly chipping away at the lead. SPU trimmed the score to 60-55; however, the Saints responded with an 8-2 run fueled by 3-Point baskets from Kitchen and Ingram.

SPU, trailing 69-59, with 4:37 remaining, made their final comeback attempt by attacking the basket and reaching the free-throw line 10 times in the final minutes. Seattle Pacific almost made the most of their time at the charity stripe, knocking down 7-10 attempts.

With the game in its' final minute, the Saints leading 75-74, Preston for his sixth assist found Kenilvort open on the perimeter; who preceded to bury home the long ball for a 78-74 lead.  Tony Miller, who finished with a game-high 33 points, brought the Falcons to within one on the following possession. The Saints used up the shot clock and with 13 seconds left, missed the key shot. However, Jorg managed to grab the offensive board and find Copp, who sank the final two free throws and gave the Saints the 80-77 victory.

"This was a great program win for us. The guys stuck together and made enough plays down the stretch to get the win. Road wins at SPU are extremely hard to come by, and I'm proud of our guys for battling against a very well coached opponent" said head coach Alex Pribble. "We're learning that every possession matters. The guys are making hustle plays and really having a good sense of urgency each possession".

Copp led all Saints with 17 points on 5-7 shooting, along with three rebounds and two assists. Preston added 16 points, five rebounds and game-high six assists. Kitchen contributed 12 points while Kenilvort and Ingram provided a spark off the bench with 15 and 13 points respectively.

As a team, SMU concluded the night on 28-58 (.483) shooting, 13-28 (.464) from 3-Point, and 11-17 (.647) at the free-throw line. The Saints grabbed 34 rebounds to go along with 12 assists, four blocks and three steals.

"Our players understand that this is still very much about the process" said Pribble. "We need to recover physically from this tough stretch, learn from the game tonight, and then begin preparations for a very talented MSU-Billings team".

Up Next: The Saints travel to Montana to face Montana State-Billings on Feb. 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 9 p.m.