LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin's protected their perfect record at home, knocking off the Falcons of Seattle Pacific to a tune of 80-63. Chandler Redix led the charge with 24 points and six rebounds, while the five starters for the Saints combined for 65 points, and 12 made 3-pointers.
 
Saint Martin's got the ball rolling by hitting five 3-pointers to open up a double-digit lead over the Falcons. Redix scored 14 points in the first half, and at one point, had outscored the entire SPU team at the 24-13 mark. SMU controlled the tempo of the game by controlling the ball, only committing five turnovers, which allowed them push the ball and get open transition looks and pull away in the second half.
 
"This was a big step in the right direction for us," said head coach Alex Pribble. "I thought we came out prepared, and played a good 40 minutes of basketball. On paper, this was a really tough matchup for us, we gave up a lot of size, but the guys battled and showed some real toughness tonight."
 
Seattle Pacific took an early 7-3 in the opening minutes, with Coleman Wooten scoring five points. Redix and Jordan Kitchen stepped into back-to-back 3-pointers to give SMU their first lead of the game, and one they would not lose.
 
Saint Martin's rallied behind the long ball, propelling themselves to a 17-2 run to take a 19-9 lead with 12:43 left in the half. Seattle Pacific was able to chip away at the lead until the Saints' double-digit lead was down to just five. Out of a Saints' timeout, EJ Boyce connected on a jumper and 3-pointer, followed a deep ball by Luke Chavez, and lead was once again in double-figures.
 
In the final minutes, Seattle Pacific closed the gap to 34-27 but a 7-0 run in the last minute of action extended the Saints' lead to 39-27 entering the break.
 
Both sides traded baskets out of halftime, before Seattle Pacific used a 10-2 run to cut the score to 48-42. Redix and Tavian Henderson answered the call, scoring six straight points in the paint and pushed the lead back out to 12 points.
 
Rhett Baerlocher found his shot from the outside, hitting three straight attempts, and barrage seemed to seal the game for SMU. After the baskets from Baerlocher, and an electric dunk from Kitchen, the Saint held their largest lead of the game at 71-53.
 
Down the stretch, Saint Martin's converted five attempts at the free throw line and iced their eighth straight victory at home. With the win, the Saints improved to 15-2 overall and a conference leading 8-1 mark.
 
"This game was won on the defensive end of the court," said Pribble. "We did a good job taking away their comfortable looks around the rim, and we fought hard on the glass against the top rebounding team in our conference."
 
Redix led all scorers with 24 points, along with his six rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass. Kitchen added 11 points, and six rebounds as well, two steals and one block. Boyce and Chavez combined for 21 points, four rebounds, and connected for six assists. Baerlocher led the team with eight rebounds, along with his nine points. Henderson and Standley came off the bench for 13 points combined, with Henderson adding six rebounds, and Standley's four assists.
 
"Chandler really sparked us tonight," Pribble acknowledged. "He works so hard, and spends so many hours in the gym working on his craft. It's great to see it come together for him, he really deserves it."
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot the ball 29-for-62 (46.8 percent) from the floor, 12-for-32 (37.5 percent) beyond the arc, and 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) at the free throw line. On the night, the Saints collected 39 rebounds, with 13 assists on only five turnovers, their lowest mark of the season.
 
"We've got a short turnaround again," Pribble stated. "This is one of the toughest stretches in our season, so I hope our guys can shift gears quick, and prepare for a very good Billings team."
 
The Saints don't get long to enjoy the victory, as they travel to Montana State Billings on Thursday to face the Yellowjackets. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. PST with links to video and stats available on smusaints.com.