SEATTLE – In what had been the longest break between Saints' games, nearly 300 days, Saint Martin's showed bright spots in their opening loss to Division-I Seattle U 98-63 on Saturday night.
Newcomer
Tyke Thompson quickly put on a show in the Redhawk Center, recording a double-double in the opening half. The sophomore ended the night with 20 points and 13 rebounds, both team highs. All-Conference center
Marky Adams added six points, and eight rebounds, while
Alex Schumacher, and
Ty Velasquez reached 10 points each. Seattle U connected on over half of its shots and pulled away early in the second half.
Both sides came out of the gates trying find an offensive flow. Schumacher recorded the first basket of the year for SMU off a break away dunk. The Saints led 6-4 until a 10-0 run put the Redhawks on top. Newcomer
Ty Velasquez broke the three minute drought with a deep 3-pointer.
After missing his first couple attempts, South Puget Sound transfer Thompson provided the bulk of the first half offense. Thompson posted a double-double in the first half, ending with game-leading 12 points, and 10 rebounds. Saint Martin's to get the score within six after a
John Moore 3-pointer under the four minute mark. However, Seattle U closed out the half on a 10-3 run, and entered halftime with a 40-27 advantage.
In the opening minutes of the second half, Seattle U's offense caught fire. The Redhawks knocked down two 3-pointers, and back-to-back layups put them on top by 21. Despite shooting 42 percent from the floor in the second half, the Saints were unable to keep up with Seattle U's 61 percent.
Saint Martin's shot 23-for-69 (33.3 percent) from the floor, 7-for-20 (35 percent) beyond the arc, and 10-for-18 (55.6 percent) at the free throw line. SMU recorded 36 rebounds, with nine assists on only 10 turnovers, six steals, and four blocks.
The Saints return to action on January 20 at home against Seattle Pacific. No fans will be allowed in Marcus Pavilion due to COVID-19 but live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
