LACEY, Wash. – Northwest Nazarene shut down the Saints' on the perimeter, leaving the paint open, and senior Matt Dahlen carried the team on his 25-point, 10-rebound performance to power Saint Martin's to a 71-64 victory over NNU inside Marcus Pavilion on Thursday.
 
The Saints (21-6, 14-5) trailed by as many as eight in the second half to Northwest Nazarene (12-13, 8-11) before a 16-1 run, fueled by Dahlen who set a career-high in points, lifted SMU over the Nighthawks for a critical win in the hunt for the NCAA Regionals.
 
Jordan Kitchen and EJ Boyce provided the early offensive spark, scoring the Saints' first seven points in the opening minutes. SMU's lead extended to six after another 3-pointer by Boyce fell with 15:37 left.
 
However, Northwest Nazarene began knocking down their 3-pointers to pull ahead by two over the course of four minutes. The Saints responded with an 8-2 run, highlighted by a block, then breakaway one-handed dunk by Kitchen to ignite the faithful inside Marcus Pavilion.
 
The Nighthawks answered back once again, taking a 30-23 lead with 3:14 left in the half, before SMU closed out the final minutes on a 7-0 run. A layup in the final seconds by Jared Mathews tied the game at halftime.
 
NNU opened up the half on an 10-2 run in the first four minutes to establish control. Rhett Baerlocher connected on a 3-pointer to stop the run, in what proved to be the start of a game-turning run. The Saints proceeded to score 16 of the next 17 points in the game, opening up a 48-41 lead with 11:11 remaining.
 
Northwest Nazarene would not go away so easily, tying the game just minutes later at 48-48, before retaking the lead on a pair of free throws. On the following possession, BJ Standley hit a 3-pointer, which was answered right back by a layup for NNU. Dahlen converted in the paint a couple possessions later to put SMU on top 53-52 with 5:18 remaining, and the Saints' never looked back.
 
The Nighthawks trimmed the lead to one in the final minutes; however, the Saints continued to attack down low with Dahlen. With help from Tavian Henderson and outside shooting by Baerlocher and Luke Chavez, the Saints managed to withstand the Nighthawks' comeback attempts and hold on for the 71-64 victory.
 
In 25 minutes of action, Dahlen set a career-high in points at 25, along with his third double-double of the season with 10 rebounds. Dahlen managed his fourth straight double-digit game on 10-for-12 shooting. Kitchen was the only other Saint to reach double-digits, finishing with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks. Baerlocher nearly posted a double-double at eight points and nine rebounds, while Chavez finished with six points and six assists.
 
The Saints shot the ball efficiently from the floor, going 27-for-57 (47.4 percent), 6-for-15 (40.0 percent) beyond the arc, and 11-for-23 (47.8 percent) from the line. SMU recorded 42 rebounds, to NNU's 40, with 18 assists on 14 turnovers, along with eight steals and seven blocks.
 
Saint Martin's plays their final home game of the season against Central Washington for senior night this Saturday, Feb 24 at 7:30 p.m. Live stats and video along with a radio broadcast by the Bryant and Clark Sports Connection are available on smusaints.com.