LACEY, Wash. – With the Saints trailing by 12 in the second half, Luke Chavez put the game on his back and carried SMU to an 80-76 overtime victory over Seattle Pacific with 26 second half points.
 
The Saints (19-6, 12-5) switched to a zone defense to take away the Falcons' (14-10, 9-8) offensive momentum in the second half, slowly trimming the lead to a tie and forcing overtime. Chavez scored eight of the Saints' 11 overtime points to lead Saint Martin's one game to closer a berth in the GNAC Championships.
 
The Saints jumped out to an early lead with baskets down low from Matt Dahlen and Jordan Kitchen. Seattle Pacific stormed back, using a 9-2, to take a three-point lead until Chavez tied the game with a deep basket.
 
SMU's lead extended to 15-12 after a basket by Jared Mathews; however, once again, SPU rallied behind a 11-2 run to regain the lead by six. In the final five minutes of the half, Seattle Pacific's lead grew to as many as nine before a 3-pointer by EJ Boyce helped cut into the lead. The Saints trailed by six entering the locker room.
 
Within the first three minutes, Seattle Pacific had taken their largest lead of the game, 43-31, after five straight baskets in the paint to open the half. Head coach Alex Pribble switched to a zone defense to take away the paint, forcing Seattle Pacific to knock down jumpers, and the switch worked.
 
The Saints began slowly chipping away at the lead by knocking down their free throws. In a stretch of three minutes, the Saints had hit eight free throws, while Chavez scored 11 straight points to pull Saint Martin's within seven points. An alley-oop dunk from BJ Standley to Tavian Henderson, followed by a basket by Dahlen cut the game to one possession with 12:18 remaining.
 
The Saints and the Falcons traded baskets over the next seven minutes of action, with Seattle Pacific starting to pull away after four straight points. SPU carried a 62-54 lead with 4:45 left in the game.
 
Chavez stepped up once again, knocking down back-to-back layups, followed by an and-one from Mathews. After a jumper for SPU, Chavez calmly hit a 3-pointer to pull SMU within one with 2:47 left. Boyce, who had been quiet most of the night, erupted Marcus Pavilion with the go-ahead 3-pointer.
 
Seattle Pacific tied the game in the closing minutes on two free throws to send the game into overtime.
 
For the first time since the Saints joined the NCAA, Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin's went to overtime. The Saints took the lead twice before Seattle Pacific tied the game right back, the last tie coming at 73-73 with 2:00 minutes left. A 3-pointer by Chavez put SMU on top for good. Chavez knocked down three free throws down the stretch, and a critical block by Mathews, sealed the 80-76 victory, the fifth straight over Seattle Pacific.
 
Chavez finished the game with 31 points, seven rebounds, six assists, only one turnover in 42 minutes of action. He shot 9-for-17 from the field, 4-of-6 beyond the arc, and 9-for-12 at the line. Dahlen recorded his second double-double of the season, finishing with 12 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out. Boyce and Mathews each scored nine points while Mathews ended with six rebounds and three blocks. Kitchen and Henderson combined for 13 points, and eight rebounds.
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 29-for-66 (43.9 percent) from the floor, 6-for-19 (31.6 percent) beyond the arc, and 16-for-23 (69.6 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints finished with 44 rebounds, six more than SPU, along with 12 assists on only six turnovers, and five blocks and four steals.
 
Saint Martin's hits the road for their final road game of the 2017-18 season with a single game in Montana. The Saints face Montana State Billings on Thursday, Feb 15 at 4:15 p.m. PST. Live stats and video of the game will be available with links on smusaints.com.