LACEY, Wash. – The Saints led for the first 35 minutes against Central Washington on Thursday night; however, the Wildcats ended the game on a 21-to-4 run to swipe the victory away from SMU, 71-65, inside Marcus Pavilion.
Marky Adams continued to dominate in the paint for the Saints, leading the way in scoring with 15 points, and rebounds with 13. The big collected another two blocks, and one steal.
Alex Schumacher scored all 12 of his points in the second half, and nearly earned the double-double with nine boards. The Saints appeared to be in control of the game coming down the stretch, but a last minute run by the Wildcats left the Saints with no time left to return the favor.
Saint Martin's opened up the first half with nine consecutive points, behind the efforts of
Marky Adams and
John Moore, while holding the Wildcats scoreless. The Wildcats finally broke the spell three minutes in, and managed to bring them back within three by the 10-minute mark.
Off of a 7-0 run, the Saints slowly stretched their lead to double-digits with eight left to play. Both teams continued to go basket-for-basket, with the lead holding around 10 heading into the second half. Adams paced the way for the Saints, nearly a double-double at the break with 12 points, and nine rebounds.
The Wildcats managed to get within two right off of an 8-0 run out of the break. However,
Alex Schumacher and
Demonte Malloy put an end to this with nine points to cushion them another double-digit lead by the 14-minute mark. The lead held around 10 for the next three minutes, until a quick CWU 5-0 run put them back within four.
Central Washington held the Saints scoreless for three straight minutes, and managed to tie it up then take the lead for the first time of the game with 3:33 left on the clock. The Wildcats ended the game on a tear, outscoring the Saints 21-to-4 in the final six minutes of action. With the run, Central Washington came up with a critical 71-65 victory in their hunt for the GNAC Championships.
Saint Martin's as a team shot 24-for-60 (40 percent) from the floor, 7-for-24 (29.2 percent) beyond the arc, and 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) at the free throw line. SMU collected 39 rebounds, and collected eight assists on 10 turnovers, with three steals, and two blocks.
Saint Martin's will end their season hosting Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, February 29 following the women's game. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:15 p.m. Nazarene with live stats and video available at smusaints.com.
