LACEY, Wash. – Saints fans have been waiting all season long to see the return of Luke Chavez fully healthy to the lineup, and the Preseason Conference Player of the Year did not disappoint. In the conference opener against Central Washington, Chavez led the way with 20 points, along with three rebounds, and three steals as No. 22 Saint Martin's toppled the Wildcats 77-69 inside Marcus Pavilion.
 
The Saints have found offense from almost every player on their roster so far this season; however, only five Saints three or more points, including two starters being held completely scoreless, in the win over CWU. Chavez and Boyce combined to hit eight 3-pointers, and were the leading scorers at 20 and 18 points respectively. The Wildcats managed to cut a 20-point second half lead for the Saints, down to eight, but were never able to come any closer.
 
"It's nice to start off conference with a win against a quality team," said head coach Alex Pribble. "Our guys did a great job on the defensive end in the first half. We're really making strides on that end of the floor. It was great to get big contributions from EJ and Luke. We know what those guys are capable of, and they're starting to find their rhythm. We also had really solid performances from BJ (Standley), Chandler (Redix), and Tavian (Henderson)."
 
Both teams looked evenly matched in the early goings of the game, with the Saints leading 10-9, five minutes in. Central Washington knocked down some points in the paint to pull ahead 15-13; however, it was their final lead of the game. BJ Standley converted an old-fashioned 3-point play, followed by a layup from Chandler Redix, put SMU back on top 17-15. Boyce hit a step back jumper, and Tavian Henderson capped off the 9-0 run with a dunk.
 
The Wildcats trimmed the lead back down to one possession with 7:31 left to go. The Saints responded by forcing the ball inside the paint, converting three straight offensive possessions, and regained an eight-point lead, in only two minutes. Chavez stepped back to hit two 3-pointers down the stretch as the Saints carried a 35-27 lead into the break.
 
Neither team found their offensive groove in the second half quickly, with the first bucket coming nearly three minutes in. After five minutes, the Saints' lead had doubled to 14 points, and SMU began to pull away from Central Washington. The Saints continued the assault from deep, with Standley and Boyce connecting on 3-pointers. Boyce, who hit all his 3-pointers in the second half, led the way.
 
The largest lead of the game came after another 9-0 by the Saints put them on top 64-44 with only seven left to go. Over the course of the final seven minutes, Central Washington scored 25 points and used their defense to make the final possessions interesting. SMU's offense scored eight of its' final 13 points at the free throw line to ice the win and their sixth of the last seven meetings against Central Washington.
 
"Unfortunately, we did have a little foul trouble, and I thought we showed some fatigue late in the game, but the guys fought through and found a way to finish it off," stated Pribble. "As a team, we didn't take care of the ball as well as we should have, but you have to credit Central Washington. They did a good job pressuring us and making things difficult. We will have a huge test on Saturday. NNU has proven themselves to be one of the top teams in the conference, if not the region. I'm excited to see how ours guys respond to the challenge."
 
To go along with Chavez's 20 points and Boyce's 18, Redix managed 15 points on only 4-of-7 shooting, collecting six at the line. Standley came off the bench for 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Henderson crashed the boards all night, leading with 10 rebounds, and also eight points.
 
Saint Martin's shot effectively once again, going 27-for-57 (47.4 percent) from the field, 10-for-25 (40.0 percent) beyond the arc, and 13-for-17 (76.5 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints collected 33 rebounds, with 11 assists, on 20 turnovers, while scoring 26 points in the paint, 32 off turnovers, and 24 off the bench.
 
Saint Martin's host undefeated Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, with top-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com along with internet radio.