MONMOUTH, Ore. -  The Saints' longest conference win streak in school history was finally snapped at eight with a road loss to No. 5 Western Oregon, 86-73, despite shooting 52 percent from the field.
 
The fifth-ranked Wolves (23-1, 15-1) had no answer for Matt Dahlen, who finished with 17 points; however, fouled out in 15 minutes of action. Western Oregon pulled away from the Saints (18-6, 11-5) in the second half to clinch their 16th straight win and improving their perfect record at home to 13-0.

"Our guys were excited for this game, and the poor result wasn't because of a lack of energy," said head coach Alex Pribble. "It was a lack of detail. You have to credit WOU, there's a reason why they are the top team in the region, and a top five team in the country. We had a tough time stopping them, and they made us pay when we made mistakes."
 
The Saints looked to attack the Wolves in the paint in the early goings of the game, with their first four makes coming inside the paint. Tavian Henderson cut the score to 10-8 with 15:51 after a layup. A 3-pointer by Rhett Baerlocher kept the game within one possession, before Western Oregon eventually extended their lead to seven with 11:32 left in the first half.
 
The Saints began to chip away at the scoreboard, and with clutch 3-pointers by Luke Chavez and EJ Boyce, SMU went on an 11-2 run to take a 26-24 lead with 8:24 remaining. However, it would be the only time Saint Martin's led all game. Western Oregon quickly tied the game and carried an eight point into halftime.
 
SMU cut the score to as little as six in the second half, before WOU's lead extended to 14 in the opening minutes of the half. The Wolves used 10 unanswered points to establish a commanding lead with 13:47 left in the game. Despite baskets by Dahlen and a 3-pointer by Boyce, Western Oregon hit their largest lead of the game at 25 at the 9:23 mark.
 
In the final ten minutes, Saint Martin's slowly starting attacking the Wolves' lead, led by BJ Standley at the line and Caden Smith hitting a 3-pointer. Dahlen scored seven straight points for SMU and a 3-pointer by Standley cut the score to 81-65, with 3:45 remaining. The Saints knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minutes, with the Saints outscoring WOU 25-13, in the closing 10 minutes; however, Western Oregon sealed the 86-73 victory.

"We will learn some important lessons from this game." Pribble said. "It's still about the learning process, and our guys need to watch the film, and be ready to go for two more tough games early next week. We're looking forward to being at home for three of our last four conference games."
 
Dahlen led the Saints with 17 points, on 6-for-6 shooting, along with three assists, one block, and one steal. Chavez ended the night with 14 points, and six assists in 27 minutes of action. Standley was the third Saint to reach double-digits, hitting 12 points, with three assists and three steals. Three Saints ended with six points, including Henderson with six rebounds.
 
The Saints shot the ball efficiently, going 26-for-50 (52.0 percent) from the floor, 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) beyond the arc, and 12-for-13 (92.3 percent) at the free throw line. Saint Martin's recorded only 21 rebounds, nine less than WOU, with 17 assists on 16 turnovers, along with seven steals and three blocks.
 
SMU returns home to host Seattle Pacific on the Tuesday night game inside Marcus Pavilion on Feb 13. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats and video of the game available on smusaints.com, along with a radio broadcast by the Bryant and Clark Sports Connection.