LACEY, Wash. – Saint Martin's avenged their road loss and equalized MSU-Billings with just two losses each on top of the GNAC standings with a convincing 84-61 victory over the Yellowjackets on Saturday night at Marcus Pavilion.
 
In a game many were expecting to be a dog-fight to the finish, the Saints rose to the occasion and showed why they're a force to be reckoned with when they're firing on all cylinders. SMU lit up Marcus Pavilion, shooting 53% from the field and 48% from deep, with eight different Saints all recording a made three pointer while limiting MSUB to just 61 points on 38% shooting from the field and 22% from deep.
 
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner followed up his double-double on Thursday with a 10-point and 13-assist double-double that was filled with crafty passes and a pair of alley-oops. Tyke Thompson led the Saints in scoring with 17, five assists, three steals and held the team-high in rebounds with six.
 
Hunter Sipe made his impact beyond the arc and inside the paint with well-timed backdoor cuts for easy layups. Foul trouble limited Branden Bunn's time on the floor but he still put up 11 points in just 16 minutes. Kyle Greeley had a more modest game compared to his Thursday effort but his 11 points on 5/9 from the field were still impressive. Christian Haffner (8) and Champ Spencer (6) came off the bench dialed in and both contributed a pair of threes at timely moments.
 
The Saints continued with the starting lineup of Nielsen-Skinner, Bunn, Greeley, Sipe and Shakeem Alcindor. The Yellowjackets scored first and Hunter Sipe kicked off the scoring for SMU with a catch-and-shoot three. Just one possession later Saint Martin's went on a 15-4 run to put themselves up 10, 18-8 with just under 14 minutes left in the half. Montana State Billings trimmed the deficit to six and the Saints responded with an 11-3 run to go up 29-15 with nine minutes remaining. With a minute and some change left in the half Nielsen-Skinner threw a lob to Thompson on a fast break to stamp the first half and SMU went into the break with a 43-29 lead and all the momentum.
 
Nielsen-Skinner must have had an encore on his mind because in the opening minute of the second half he threw another alley-oop, this time with Alcindor on the receiving end. With the tone set in the opening minute, the Saints extended their lead and secure the emphatic 84-61 win.
 
Head coach Aaron Landon was pleased with his team's effort on both ends of the floor saying, "Tonight our guys played a great 40 minutes on both sides of the ball. I'm really proud of how we stayed focused defensively, it helps our offensive pace so much to be playing off defensive rebounds. MSUB is a great team, we really had to battle on the glass tonight and I'm proud of the way our guys stepped up."
 
SMU will be on the road next week, traveling to Anchorage to play against the Seawolves on Thursday, February 16th at 6:16 PM PST. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.