LACEY, Wash. – The Saints win streak did not receive a scare as in-town rival The Evergreen State College Geoducks poised to be no trouble for No. 15 Saint Martin's, 94-57. Five different Saints reached the double-digit mark, as SMU dominated on both ends of the floor, outrebounding the Geoducks 48-31.
 
The game was tight in the opening minutes; however, the depth of the Saints' bench immediately came into play. Evergreen State had no answer for Caden Smith and Jared Mathews, while Rhett Baerlocher, Luke Chavez, and Chandler Redix find their stroke later in the half. The Saints pulled away quickly and with force, using their size advantage and athleticism control the game. SMU connected on 15 3-pointers to overpower the Geoducks.
 
"Our guys did a great job of competing for 40 minutes tonight," said head coach Alex Pribble. "We really focused on the process of defending, possession by possession, for the whole game, and I thought they did a nice job of that."
 
For the first five minutes, Evergreen State was able to hold their own against SMU, with the score all knotted up at 11-11. A 3-pointer by Boyce and back-to-back baskets from Mathews got the ball rolling for the Saints. The guard play of Smith and Redix, along with BJ Standley allowed SMU to begin pulling away by the 10:00 minute mark with a 26-17 lead.
 
The Saints offense flowed through their starting guards in the final ten minutes of the first half, with Boyce and Chavez leading the charge. Baerlocher connected on multiple 3-pointers, and over the course of the ten minutes, the Saints' lead had grown to 19, with a halftime score of 44-25.
 
The second half was more of how the first half ended, with the Saints continuing to make shots from the outside, and attacking down low on the glass. Marky Adams checked in for only seven minutes; however, grabbed an impressive seven boards, and scored five points. Jordan Kitchen led the way with his 11 rebounds, and the Saints coasted to a 50-32 score in the second half, and a final of 94-57.
 
Baerlocher led all scorers with 17 points, followed by Chavez at 13, and Redix and Smith with 12 each. Mathews finished with 10 points to be the fifth Saint in double-digits. Boyce and Standley combined for 13 points, while Alexis Angeles and Kazuma Lane had three a piece off the bench.
 
"We had contributions from a lot of guys tonight," Pribble said. "We shot the ball well, especially Caden, Rhett, and Luke in the second half. But we also had a nice inside presence with Jared. I thought Jordan also did a great job on being active on the defensive end, and really leading us on that side of the floor. It was also great to see Marky Adams make a big contribution with seven rebounds."
 
The Saints as a team finished 37-of-75 (49.3 percent) from the field, 15-for-35 (42.9 percent) beyond the arc, and 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) at the line. SMU 18 assists on 12 turnovers, and had 38 points in the paint, and 38 off the bench as well.
 
"Now it's time for our guys to compete in the classroom, with final exams next week," Pribble said. "We'll have some time to prepare for another big challenge in Dixie State."
 
The Saints get next week off before hosting Dixie State at home to conclude non-conference season on December 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video on smusaints.com, along with a radio broadcast by the Bryant and Clark Sports Connection.