SEATTLE – With possibly the two hottest teams in the GNAC facing off, Seattle Pacific rallied in the second half to defend their home court. Despite
EJ Boyce continuing his shooting tear with a 23 point performance, the Falcons staved off the offense and claimed the 67-63 victory.
No. 11 Saint Martin's found a majority of offense through their guards of Boyce,
Chandler Redix and
BJ Standley. The three combined for 45 of the Saints' 63 points. Seattle Pacific controlled the glass, outrebounding SMU by eight and were lifted by a 26 point performance by guard Nikhil Lizotte. The Saints rely on the long ball to jumpstart their offense, and on the road, the team combined for 5-for-23.
"Credit SPU for being ready from the jump tonight," said head coach
Alex Pribble. "They played hard and shot the ball well right out of the gate, and our guys didn't match that intensity. We were a bit inconsistent throughout the night, and you're not going to beat a good team on the road with an inconsistent effort."
Boyce fueled the Saints' offense in the opening minutes, scoring eight of their 12 points. However, after a quick 12-12 score four minutes, both sides struggled to find offense in the next four minutes. At the 11:00 mark, the Saints held a 16-14 lead.
The Saints' offense went cold from beyond the arc, going over seven minutes without a made 3-pointer. Boyce connected on his attempt in transition at the 7:49 mark to put SMU back on top 19-18. Over the next five minutes, Seattle Pacific managed to open up a 29-24 lead, the largest
Saint Martin's ended the half on an 8-2 run to regain a 34-33 right before the break. Standley scored five of the eight points, while Boyce hit one last 3-pointer to raise his first half total to 16 points.
The Falcons and the Saints traded baskets out of halftime, with Boyce and Redix picking up right where they left off on the offensive end of the floor. Standley also jumped in on the scoring and the three guards combined for 40 of the Saints' first 47 points.
With the Saints leading 47-44, Seattle Pacific rattled off 11 straight points to regain the lead with less than eight minutes to go.
Jordan Kitchen ended the run and the Saints' drought of five minutes without a point with a pair of free throws.
Seattle Pacific dominated the glass down the stretch, which led to second chance opportunities. The Saints had an opportunity to tie the game in the final 30 seconds, after fighting back down from as many as eight. A costly turnover put Seattle Pacific back with the ball, forcing the Saints to foul. The Falcons hit one, and the Saints on the opposite end scored on a dunk from Kitchen.
With six seconds left, the Saints put Gavin Long, a 76.0 percent free throw shooter at the line. Long converted both and iced the victory.
"We're at the point in the season where every game can be decided by one or two possessions," said Pribble. "Unfortunately the combination of a few mental lapses, and putting them to the free throw line 35 times led to the result tonight."
Boyce led the way with 23 points, with 16 coming in the first half. Redix and Standley each ended with 11 points each, while Kitchen added his eight points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Tavian Henderson came off the bench for five points and a team leading eight rebounds.
As a team, Saint Martin's shot 22-for-57 (38.6 percent) from the field, 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) beyond the arc, and 14-for-16 (87.5 percent) from the free throw line. SMU grabbed 32 rebounds, along with eight assists on nine turnovers with two blocks, one steals.
"This was definitely a big opportunity missed, but our guys understand that it's now in the rear view mirror," Pribble said. "All we can do is learn, and take the lessons into our next game against a very talented MSUB team."
Saint Martin's returns home for senior day and their final game of the regular season on Saturday against Montana State Billings. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. after the women's game. Live stats and video along with internet radio by the Bryant and Clark Sports Connection on smusaints.com.
