LACEY, Wash. – A complete game by Luke Chavez and a 49-point offensive explosion in the second half, lifted the Saints to a 75-69 victory over Montana State Billings in front of a packed Marcus Pavilion.

After trailing by seven at halftime, the Saints (13-5, 6-4) outscored the Yellowjackets (11-10, 3-7) 49-to-36 in the second half, leading Saint Martin's to their third straight victory and sixth at home this season.

Both sides traded baskets in the early goings of the game, with the score tied at 5-5 at the 16:47 mark.  A layup by Jared Mathews and jumper by Luke Chavez put SMU back on top 9-5. The Saints held MSUB to without a point for nearly four minutes; however, the Yellowjackets closed the gap to one point after two made baskets with 12:49 remaining.

Neither side was able to gain a sizable advantage, trading baskets and keeping the game close at 24-23 with Saint Martin's on top at 5:36 remaining in the half. SMU's lead stretched to three before Montana State Billings went on a 10-0 run to end the first half and take a 33-26 lead into halftime.

Matt Dahlen converted on a layup, the first Saints' points in over five minutes, to jumpstart Saint Martin's offense. A jumper by Jordan Kitchen and a 3-pointer by EJ Boyce trimmed the Yellowjackets' lead down to two at 35-33 with 18:17 remaining in the game.

Montana State Billings answered back and pushed the lead back out to six, but key 3-pointers by Rhett Baerlocher and Chavez put SMU on top for the first time in the second half. Tavian Henderson and Boyce stepped up for Saint Martin's, knocking down clutch baskets and kept SMU up 52-49 with 10:53 left in the game.

The Saints began to pull away from the Yellowjackets, following a 10-0 run, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Baerlocher and baskets by Dahlen and Boyce with 8:06 remaining. The Saints' lead touched double-digits after a Boyce 3-pointer from Chavez, at the 7:06 mark.

The Saints continued to hit baskets and keep the lead in the double-digits over the next four minutes, putting the pressure on Montana State Billings to make a late-game run. The Yellowjackets slowly began chipping away the lead, dwindling the score to 71-64 with 2:10 left in the game. In the final minutes, the Saints had to seal the victory at the line, and did so, knocking down four free throws en route to the 75-69 win.

Leading the Saints was Chavez who ended the night with 15 points, a career-high nine rebounds, along with seven assists. Jordan Kitchen added 14 points and five rebounds, while Dahlen wrapped up at 13 points and three rebounds. Boyce and Baerlocher combined for 19 points and 10 rebounds.
 
The Saints shot 29-for-59 (49.2 percent) from the field, 8-for-16 (50.0 percent) beyond the arc, and 9-for-16 (56.3 percent) at the free throw line. SMU ended the game with 36 rebounds, 17 assists on 14 turnovers, along with five blocks and seven steals.
 
The Saints will travel to Western Washington for their next GNAC match up on Jan 25 with tip-off at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the game will be available with links on smusaints.com.