BILLINGS, Mont. – A strong defensive outing, along with 13 made 3-pointers, lifted the Saints to a 77-60 victory over Montana State Billings to clinch their 20th win of the season, and a spot in the GNAC Championships.
For the second straight year, the Saint Martin's Saints (20-6, 13-5) have earned a seed in the GNAC Championships, after defeating Montana State Billings (13-15, 5-12) on the road. The Saints also reached the 20-win mark for the first time since the 2008-09 season, in which SMU finished with 22 victories.
"Our guys had great focus tonight," said head coach
Alex Pribble. "They were prepared and they started fast. They were also consistent, and kept a positive mindset throughout the game."
The Saints defense shut down Montana State Billings in the early goings, only allowing three points in the opening 11 minutes of the game. Meanwhile, the Saints made the most of it, scoring 12 straight points in that span and opening up a 16-3 lead.
Saint Martin's lead touched as many as 19, 26-7 with 5:29 remaining, fueled by baskets from
Matt Dahlen,
Jared Mathews and
Luke Chavez. However, the Yellowjackets found some offensive flow in the closing minutes of the first half, outscoring the Saints 11-5. A 3-pointer by
Rhett Baerlocher, who led the way with 12 points in the first half, helped the Saints close out the half with a 34-20 lead.
Montana State Billings continued to chip away at the lead, cutting the score to ten points in the opening possessions of the second half. The Saints responded with force, going on a 13-3 run, highlighted by 3-pointers from Chavez and
Jordan Kitchen to extend the score out to 47-27 with 15:30 left.
The Yellowjackets answered back with seven straight points of their own before baskets by
BJ Standley and Mathews quieted the run. The Saints and the Yellowjackets traded baskets over the next five minutes of action, with the Saints' lead holding steady around 14 points.
The Saints started to pull away, extending their lead out to 21 points, 72-51, after a 3-pointer by Boyce with 4:21 left in the game. In the closing minutes of the game, Standley connected on the Saints' 13th 3-pointer of the game, and sealed the 77-60 victory over MSUB.
"Playing four games in eight days, and traveling for three of them, we knew this would be a challenge," Pribble said. "Our guys did a great job of staying focused and putting together a good performance."
Kitchen led the Saints with 13 points, on 4-of-7 shooting beyond the arc. Baerlocher and Boyce each finished with 12 points, and combined for six 3-pointers. Baerlocher grabbed five boards and Boyce dished out five assists. Chavez and Standley combined for 13 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists in the game.
Saint Martin's as a team shot 29-for-58 (50.0 percent) from the court, 13-for-27 (48.1 percent) beyond the arc, and 6-for-10 at the free throw line. The Saints collected 33 rebounds, seven more than MSUB, 21 assists on eight turnovers, along with seven steals and one block.
"Twenty wins was a big product goal of ours this year," Pribble said. "so it's great to check that off the list. With that said, we have two huge games next week, and I know our guys will be excited to protect home court. I hope we see a lot of Saints supporters out at Marcus Pavilion next week."
The Saints have a week off before returning to Marcus Pavilion for their final two home games of the regular season, starting with Northwest Nazarene on Thursday, Feb 22 at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video of the game, along with a radio broadcast by the Bryant and Clark Sports Connection will be available on smusaints.com.
