MONMOUTH, Ore. – Rhett Baerlocher tied a career-high 16 points as the Saints dropped a tough road conference game against Western Oregon, 82-73, inside the PE Building.

Saint Martin's (11-10, 5-8 GNAC) and Western Oregon (12-9, 9-4) struggled to gain an advantage early over one another. The Saints took an early 11-10 lead on a lay-up from Tyler Copp before Trey Ingram extended the lead to 13-10 with 12:07 left in the first half.

The Wolves established control of the game on a 10-0 run capped-off by back-to-back 3-pointers from Demetrius Trammell, who came off the bench for 16 points. A bucket from Ingram and a trey from Copp helped the Saints trim the defiect to 24-18 with 6:26 left in the first half.

Western Oregon rattled off a 7-0 run, highlighted by a dunk from Tanner Omlid, who ended the game with a night-high 23 points. Once again, the Saints marched back before halftime on a dunk from Jordan Kitchen and a second-chance lay-up from Kazuma Lane. SMU trailed 35-29 entering the break.

A steal by Robert Little led to a 3-pointer from Cole Preston, cutting the Wolves lead to three just 1:13 into the second half. Western Oregon once again found a way to stop the Saints' comeback and extend their lead to 12 with 14:10 left in the game.

SMU refused to back down, chipping away at the lead until an Ingram field goal brought the Saints to within five halfway through the final half.  The Wolves ensuing 16-5 run gave them their largest lead of the game, 71-55, with 3:28 remaining in the game. The Saints dwindled the lead back down to six but it proved too late as Western Oregon held on for the 82-73 victory.

"Credit Western Oregon for playing as hard as they did, unfortunately, our guys didn't match their intensity tonight" said head coach Alex Pribble. "To win tough games on the road, you have to be willing to defend and compete every possession and I don't feel like we did that tonight".

Baerlocher led all Saints scorers with 16 points on 6-11 shooting and 2-5 from beyond the arc. Ingram matched his season average with 13 points on an efficient 5-7 shooting. Copp was the third Saint to reach the double-digit mark with 10 points. Copp has reached the mark six of the last seven games.

Kitchen and Fred Jorg battled on the glass for SMU with seven and five rebounds respectively. Preston pitched in with a team-leading four assists; while Brandon Kenilvort accounted for eight points off the bench.

"We have a great group of guys in that locker room, and their going through the ups and downs together. I have confidence that they will come together and respond well" said Pribble.

The Saints out rebounded the Wolves to a margin of 37-31 and both teams finished with a baker's dozen 13 assists. SMU shot 29-58 (.500) from the field, 8-21 (.381) from beyond the 3-point line and 7-13 (.538) at the charity stripe. Western Oregon finished 29-60 (.483) overall, 8-23 (.348) from deep and were an effective 16-20 (.800) at the free throw line.

"We have a tough road game Saturday, so we need to refocus and be ready to compete. I hope we can get back to doing what has made us successful in the past, which is consistent effort and executing offensively" said Pribble.

Up Next: The Saints continue their road trip to Portland, Oregon where they will face conference foe Concordia University on Saturday. The Cavaliers (9-11, 5-8) are fresh off an 81-71 victory over Seattle Pacific University.