LACEY, Wash. – In a critical game for seeding in the GNAC Championships, the Saints put together a complete 40-minutes offensively, and defensively, to dismantle Alaska in an 80-59 victory inside Marcus Pavilion.
 
Matt Dahlen set a school record for blocks in a single game, ending with seven, the most since SMU joined the NCAA, while EJ Boyce connected on all five of his 3-pointers to lead the Saints with 17 points. The Saints (16-5, 9-4) held Alaska (9-10, 7-6) to under 60, the first time SMU held an NCAA opponent to 59 or less since 2016, as Saint Martin's extended their longest winning streak of the year to six.
 
Alaska took the first lead of the game, and tied the score at 7-7; however, after a layup by Chavez, the Saints never looked back on the scoreboard. The Saints' lead quickly grew to 17-9 on baskets by Tavian Henderson and Chavez with 11:44 left in the first half. Alaska answered back with six straight points but a 3-pointer by Rhett Baerlocher shifted the momentum back to SMU.
 
The Saints capitalized on the momentum with an 18-0 run, stretching over five minutes, and putting SMU on top 38-17 with 4:14 left in the first half. Alaska once again responded, ending the first half on an 11-3 run to chip the lead down to 13 before heading into the locker room. The Saints carried a 41-28 lead into the second half.
 
The Saints' lead shrunk to as a little as 11 before six points by Henderson and another 3-pointer by EJ Boyce gave Saint Martin's their largest of the game at 53-33 with 15:04 remaining. Alaska struggled to find any offensive grove in the second half, in large part to Matt Dahlen, who picked up seven blocks, tied for the fourth most in a single GNAC game in conference history.
 
The Saints lead grew to 23, following 3-pointers by Jordan Kitchen and Caden Smith, and stayed for the most part within that range. The Saints went to the bench in final ten minutes, and players like Michael Painter and Cameron Chatwin made the most of it. Both knocked down 3-pointers in the final minutes as they finished with a combined nine points in 13 minutes. 13 Saints saw action on the court, with 11 scoring at least two points. The Saints cruised to the 80-59 victory over Alaska to gain critical ground the race for the GNAC Championships.
 
Leading in the points caterogy for Saint Martin's was Boyce with 17 points, on 5-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc, his first perfect 3-point shooting game of the year. Dahlen finished with seven blocks, a school record in the NCAA-era, and tied for fourth most in GNAC history, along with seven rebounds and three steals. Kitchen and Henderson were the only other Saints to reach the double-digit mark, each ending with 13 points, and combined for 10 rebounds. BJ Standley led the team in assists with six off in 19 minutes of action.
 
As a unit, Saint Martin's shot the ball efficiently, going 30-for-54 (55.6 percent) from the field, 13-for-23 (56.5 percent) beyond the arc, and 7-for-9 (77.8 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints recorded 37 rebounds, 15 assists on 20 turnovers, along with eight blocks and six steals.
 
The Saints put their six game win streak on the line against Alaska Anchorage on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. inside Marcus Pavilion. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.