MONMOUTH, Ore. – Western Oregon was the hump the Saints could never quite get over last season, with four of their eight losses coming at the hands of the Wolves. In a rematch of the GNAC Championship game, and second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Saints pulled off the monumental victory on the road, taking down the Wolves 64-59.
 
No one single player carried the Saints to the victory, as it was a complete team effort. Four Saints scored in double-digits, led by Jordan Kitchen at 13, and six different players grabbed four or five rebounds. The sophomore BJ Standley and Tavian Henderson led the charge in the first half, scoring 13 combined points. In the second half, it was the seniors, Kitchen, Luke Chavez and Chandler Redix, as the three combined for 24 of the 37 points. The Saints' defense also proved to be the difference maker, limiting Western Oregon to only 3-for-19 (15.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

"This one meant a lot to these guys," said head coach Alex Pribble. "I know a lot of them had this game circled on the schedule after the way our last season ended. I'm really proud of the way they stuck together and found a way to win on the road. They showed great composure and played very well down the stretch."
 
It took Saint Martin's over four minutes to score their first points of the game, coming on a 3-pointer by Rhett Baerlocher. In that time, Western Oregon opened up an eight point lead; however, it was quickly gone, as Saint Martin's tied the game at 12-12. Standley converted a layup, and after a following basket by Western Oregon, Standley connected on a 3-pointer to tie the game with 11:49 left in the first half.
 
SMU's first lead of the game came on a layup by Henderson at the 10:38 mark, but both sides would trade leads down the stretch of the first half. The last time came at the 27-27 mark, before Western Oregon managed to close out the half on a small 5-0 run to take a 32-27 lead into halftime.
 
The Saints began chipping away at the lead in the second half, with EJ Boyce hitting a 3-pointer, and Kitchen making back-to-back layups. Western Oregon saw a seven point shrink to one in only a matter of minutes. Kitchen continued to punish the Wolves, connecting on a 3-pointer, and another jumper, marking nine straight points, and the game tied at 41-41 with 14:31 left.
 
Western Oregon came back with another quick 5-0 run, before the Saints responded with their own 7-0 run. Capped off by a 3-pointer from Redix, the Saints had their first lead of the second half at 48-46 with 10:49 left to go.
 
Over the next five minutes, the Saints would only convert on two field goals; however, they couldn't have been more critical. Chavez hit two 3-pointers to keep SMU on top heading into the final five minutes.
 
In crunch time, Standley hit a jumper and a pair of free throws, while Henderson had a fastbreak dunk off of an assist from Chavez. The final dagger came from the hands of Redix, as the senior hit a 3-pointer to put SMU up by seven. In the final five minutes, the Wolves only managed to score six points, and Saint Martin's finally claimed the victory that eluded them all season last year.
 
Kitchen led the Saints in points with 13 and rebounds at five, along with three blocks and three steals in only 24 minutes of action. Redix added 12 points and four rebounds, while Chavez managed 10 points, and both guards had two steals apiece. Standley led the way off the bench with his 13 points, and also five assists, and four rebounds. Henderson ended the night with eight points and four rebounds.

"We had great contributions across the board tonight," said Pribble. "In particular, Jordan Kitchen gave us huge minutes in the second half. Jared Mathews and Caden Smith also gave us a spark in that second half. I hope this win can propel us a bit. We've got another big road challenge on Saturday, and I really hope this win provides some momentum moving forward."
 
The Saints as a team shot 22-for-54 (40.7 percent) from the field, 9-for-30 (30.0 percent) and 11-for-14 (78.6) at the line. Saint Martin's grabbed 31 rebounds, collected 15 assists on only seven turnovers, while managing seven steals and four blocks.
 
SMU heads up I-5 to face Concordia in Portland on Saturday, at 7:00 p.m. Live stats and video of the game will be available on smusaints.com.