BELMONT, Calif. – The Saints trailed 28-27 with eight minutes left to go in the first. For the rest of the first half, and the first 15 minutes of the second half, the Saints outscored Holy Names 44-21 to once again roll to another victory, 77-63, and improved to 5-1 on the year.
 
The Saints had one objective in California for Thanksgiving, taking both games of the NDNU Thanksgiving Classic. Despite slow starts in both games, the Saints' defense proved to be the key, leading to good offensive possessions, and two wins on the road. Chandler Redix led the way with 16 points, as four Saints reached double-digits, and SMU shot exactly 50 percent from the field.

"This was a good win against a physical team that plays very hard," said head coach Alex Pribble. "Our guys put together a few really good stretches of basketball, and although we didn't shoot the ball great, we were able to build a lead with our defense. We got contributions from a lot of different guys on the team tonight, but as we get into conference play next week we're going to need more consistency across the board."
 
Like last night, the Saints jump started their offense with defense and 3-point shooting. Luke Chavez and EJ Boyce knocked down back-to-back 3-pointer to put SMU on top 13-10 in the opening possessions. Holy Names managed to fight back and regain the lead, holding it until the 6:42 mark, at 28-27.
 
Redix connected on from deep to give the Saints the lead back, one they would not relinquish. The 3-pointer sparked the Saints' run at the end of the first half, as Tavian Henderson, BJ Standley and Rhett Baerlocher all contributed in the 8-0 run to close out the half. Saint Martin's carried a 38-28 lead into the break.
 
Holy Names scored on their first two trips in the second half, cutting the lead down to 38-33 before the Saints responded once again. The turning point in the game were back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers by Boyce and Baerlocher as the Saints quickly turned a five point lead into a 14 point lead with 15:40 remaining.
 
The guards of Saint Martin's continued to apply pressure to the Hawks, with Chavez and Standley converting baskets to give SMU their largest lead of the game at 64-41 with 9:05 left. Down the stretch, Holy Names managed to get through the Saints' defense, outscoring SMU 22-13; however, it was too little to late. The game came to a close with the Saints clinching their straight win by more than 10 points.

"As we take a look back at the first part of our non-conference schedule, we can be proud of the 5-1 start, but more importantly, we can be proud of the improvements we've made on both ends of the floor. We're going to need to continue our development as we begin conference play with a couple of very good teams next week."
 
Redix once again was the Saints' leading scorer with 16 points, along with his four rebounds, and four assists. Chavez added 12 points, while Boyce was good for 14 points. Baerlocher was the fourth Saint to reach 10 points. No Saint played more than 29 minutes and only two played 25 minutes or more. Tavian Henderson and Jordan Kitchen controlled the boards with eight rebounds each, and combined for 10 points.
 
For the night, the Saints were 27-for-54 (50.0 percent) from the field, 10-for-31 (32.3 percent) beyond the arc, and 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) at the line. SMU had 38 rebounds, along with 17 assists on 16 turnovers, and scored 30 in the paint, and 21 off the bench.
 
The Saints return home for their first taste of GNAC action next week, hosting Central Washington on Thursday, November 29. The game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. with live stats and video available on smusaints.com.