LACEY, Wash. – The Saint Martin's men's basketball team (7-0) had high expectations coming into the year, but what they've already accomplished thus far has been remarkable. Not only did they schedule one of the toughest first months that any DII team in the country would have to deal with, they took down every opponent in their way, enroute to the best start in school history, the ranking of No. 4 in the D2CSC and CBB Nation Poll, and the ranking of No. 6 in the NACB Poll.
 
After playing their first competition on the road just about a month ago in an exhibition with the University of Washington, the Saints have taken two separate trips to California where they had four true road games and three neutral site matchups. After an undefeated opening weekend against Hawaii Hilo (who the previous weekend had gone 3-0 against GNAC schools) and Westmont, Saint Martin's then took their talents to San Diego where they toppled previous West Region #1 seed and No. 11 ranked Point Loma. A second trip to California saw SMU triumph over CCAA opponents Monterey Bay and East Bay, before a blowout win over Dominican (CA) and an 11-point victory over Academy of Art.
 
"Playing that stretch of games in California was challenging, but it was invaluable for a team like this that has so much to figure out with roles and responsibilities," said Head Coach Aaron Landon, "We found a lot of different ways to win, and a lot of different guys stepped up in those wins. I loved getting to know this group better and when you're on the road you learn the most about your team. We've done a lot to position ourselves well in the West Region, but none of that matters unless we can be great in conference play."
 
With another undefeated week under their belt, the Saints take their 7-0 record to the home portion of their schedule with the home and GNAC opener against Northwest Nazarene slated for this Thursday at 7:30 PM in Marcus Pavilion. NNU was the preseason No. 2 in the GNAC poll so this is slated for a heavyweight bout in the Pav.