BURNABY, Canada – From the first to the final possession, the Saints controlled the game against Simon Fraser, opening the game on a 30-4 run. The 19th-ranked Saints cruised to the 96-76 victory, their eighth consecutive win, and improved to 10-1 overall and 3-0 in GNAC.
 
The game started with the Saints scoring the first 19 points of the game, and after six 3-pointers in the opening nine minutes, SMU's lead maxed out at 30-4. The 3-pointers continued to fall throughout the game for the Saints, as they landed 14 attempts and set a new season-high in scoring.

"The guys did a great job tonight in a tough environment," said head coach Alex Pribble. "They came out of the gate focused and prepared, shared the ball, and competed right from the start. It's always tough to win conference games on the road, so it's great to start off our trip with a win."
 
EJ Boyce, BJ Standley, and Chandler Redix all connected from deep to ignite the scoring run to open the game, The Clan scored their first basket of the game four and half minutes into the game to end the 19-0 run. Boyce hit another 3-pointer, and Jared Mathews and Jordan Kitchen also stepped out to join in on the scoring, giving SMU a 30-4 lead with 11:37 left in the first half.
 
Simon Fraser responded by scoring nine straight points to start a strong push to end the first half. After trailing by 26, the Clan had trimmed the lead in half at 46-33 with 1:13 left to go in the half. Saint Martin's Rhett Baerlocher hit a closing 3-pointer, and with some help at the free throw line, the Saints' lead extended back to 51-37 at the break.
 
Out of the break, the Saints established control once again, outscoring SFU 10-1 through the first five minutes. The Saints did not allow a field goal for the first six and half minutes, and their lead grew back to as many as 25.
 
Seven different players hit from the outside and the Saints put together one of their most dominant performances of the season. Simon Fraser did not quit and fought to the final possession, but the Saints eclipsed their season-high in points, and ended with a 96-76 win.  
 
BJ Standley, who got the start for the injured Luke Chavez, stepped up with career-high 22 points, including a perfect 12-for-12 mark at the free throw line. To go along with his career-high, Standley led the Saints with six assists and grabbed four rebounds. Boyce ended the night with 19 points, with five 3-pointers, while Redix scored 17 points. Tavian Henderson and Baerlocher each finished with 10 points and combined for 11 rebounds. Kitchen and Mathews rounded out the scoring with nine and seven points respectively.

"I thought we had great contributions across the board tonight," Pribble said. "With 20 assists on 28 made field goals, the guys were really playing unselfish. BJ did a great job distributing, and EJ, Jared, and Tavian all knocked down some big shots for us from behind the arc."
 
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 28-for-54 (51.9 percent) from the floor, 14-for-32 (43.8 percent) beyond the arc, and 26-for-34 (76.5 percent) at the free throw line. The Saints grabbed 29 rebounds, and collected an impressive 20 assists to only eight turnovers.

"We're going to need to shift gears quickly and prepare for a very talented Western Washington team on Saturday. We have a veteran group, and I'm excited to see how they respond to the challenge," proclaimed Pribble.
 
Saint Martin's travels to Western Washington on Saturday, their first meeting since the buzzer beater in the GNAC semifinals a year ago. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. with live stats available on smusaints.com.