LACEY, Wash. – In their first game returning to conference play, Saint Martin's relied on their excellent outside shooting and a stellar second half performance from Branden Bunn to best the Red Leafs, 94-81.
 
It had been just over three weeks since SMU (11-2, 3-0) last played in Marcus Pavilion and the Saints faithful were in for a treat with this GNAC matchup against Simon Fraser (5-7, 0-2).
 
Kyle Greeley got going early scoring nine of his 17 points in the first half and making his first five shots consecutively before his first miss in the second half. Greeley also fell just short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Shakeem Alcindor also went perfect from the field in the first half with six of his total nine points scored before the break. Jaden Nielsen-Skinner went on double-double watch early after ending the first half with eight points and six assists. Nielsen-Skinner doubled his point total to 16 but did not have any more assists in the game.
 
The star of the show, Branden Bunn, showed flashes in the first half with a modest five at the break but erupted in the second half with 18 to end the night with 23 points, five rebounds and six assists. His performance earned him conference recognition as he was the top scorer in the GNAC.
 
Bunn got the starting nod for the game and joined the lineup of Nielsen-Skinner, Greeley, Alcindor and Nathaniel Stokes. Alcindor scored the first basket of the night on the Saints first possession to get them going right out the gate. The two team kept the game tight throughout the early minutes until Saint Marin's jumped out with a 15-2 run that featured eight points from Champ Spencer to put SMU up 33-21 with just over seven minutes left in the half. SFU responded with a run of their own to bring the deficit back down to single digits and Saint Martin's led 42-35 going into the half.
 
In the second half, the Red Leafs made their attempts to cut into the lead but Saint Martin's continued to respond with timely baskets to break their momentum. Around the 14-minute mark is when Bunn began his solo performance and rattled off 11 of the Saint's next 12 points in a dazzling display of step-backs, snatch-backs, and killer crossovers. Hunter Sipe also got hot down the stretch connecting on 3 three-pointers late to extend the margin for the SMU late. Nielsen-Skinner put the game away at the free throw line and Saint Martin's got the win, 94-81.
 
Head coach Aaron Landon reflected on the victory with, "That was a good win tonight, it's hard to play right after the break and I thought we played with great energy tonight. We shot it well but I was most impressed with how responsible our guys were with decisions. We had 22 assists against 7 turnovers, I'll credit our guys collectively, they were awesome with the ball tonight."
 
Saint Martin's will be back at home hosting Western Washington on New Year's Eve at 5:15 PM. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.