BURNABY, Canada – The Saints Men's Basketball team extended their win streak to five games, tied for the longest of the year, with a convincing 85-63 victory over Simon Fraser on the road.
 
Saint Martin's (15-5, 8-4) has put together five straight wins with lights out shooting, including a 54.1 percent performance on Saturday, along with stellar defenses, holding Simon Fraser (9-11, 3-9) to only 37.1 percent from the field and 25.0 percent beyond the arc.
 
"A road sweep in the GNAC is special," said head coach Alex Pribble. "We really competed this weekend. Tonight, we should great mental toughness, fighting through some adversity, and finding a way to get the win in a tough environment."
 
The Saints quickly jumped on Simon Fraser, using an early 10-0 run to take a commanding 14-4 lead in the first four minutes. Rhett Baerlocher connected on two 3-pointers to help push the Saints' lead to double-digits. SMU extended their lead out to as many as 15 points in the first half, 29-14, following a deep ball from EJ Boyce with 10:26 remaining in the first half.  
 
The Clan began to rally in the second part of the first half, trimming the lead to five in just four minutes of action, fueled by 10 unanswered points. Despite baskets by Jordan Kitchen and Tavian Henderson, Simon Fraser continued to chip away until the lead was erased in the final minute of the half on a layup. The Saints and the Clan went into halftime with a 37-37 draw.
 
Simon Fraser took their first lead of the game with a pair of free throws on the first possession of the second half; however, Boyce quickly responded with a 3-pointer. The Saints regained the lead and never looked back. Simon Fraser held the Saints' lead to only five with 12:13 remaining in the game, before the Saints began to pull away for good. Baskets by Luke Chavez, a 3-pointer by Baerlocher and points in the paint by Henderson and Matt Dahlen powered SMU out to a 67-53 lead with 6:58 left.
 
The Saints' lead continued to grow in the final minutes, eventually hitting the 20-point mark after back-to-back 3-pointers by Boyce. SMU's defense locked down the Clan in final five minutes, only allowing five points and allowed the Saints to cruise to the 85-63 GNAC victory.
 
"SFU is a good team," Pribble said. "They're tough to guard and they play very well at home. I'm proud of the way our guys were resilient in the second half and came together to get this win. Offensively, things are really coming together. We had 19 assists tonight with only six turnovers, and five guys in double digits."
 
For the ninth time this season, Luke Chavez hit the 20-point mark, ending with exactly 20 on 8-for-12 shooting along with four assists and three rebounds. Boyce added 18 points on six made 3-pointers and four rebounds, along with Baerlocher and Kitchen combining for 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jared Mathews and Dahlen went for 19 points and six rebounds down low for SMU combined.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 33-for-61 (54.1 percent) from the floor, 11-for-26 (42.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints finished with 36 rebounds, 19 assists on only six turnovers, along with 10 blocks and five steals.
 
"Next week we have two big games against the Alaska schools," said Pribble. "We're hoping to see a lot of Saints supporters in Marcus Pavilion."
 
The Saints return home to Marcus Pavilion for a match-up with Alaska on Thursday Feb 1 at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video links will be available on smusaints.com along with an internet radio broadcast by the Bryant and Clark Sports Connection.