FAIRBANKS, Alaska – For the first time since 2019 and the second time in program history, the Saints win both legs of their Alaska trip with an 83-61 victory over the Nanooks.
Shakeem Alcindor followed up his season high with a 17-point outing on 8-9 from the floor.
Hunter Sipe just missed a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds.
Christian Haffner has a solid night of 11 points on 3-7 shooting from deep.
Tyke Thompson (9),
Nathaniel Stokes (9),
Branden Bunn (8),
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner (8) and
Kyle Greeley (7) all just missed double digits scoring in one of the most balanced scoring nights the Saints (22-4, 14-2) have had this season.
SMU came out with the lineup of Nielsen-Skinner, Bunn, Sipe, Thompson, and Alcindor. Alaska (11-13, 6-10) got one the board first and Thompson drained a three to score the first basket for Saint Martin's and gave them the lead. After trading blows early, the Saints jumped ahead with a 13-3 run to put them up, 23-14 with eight minutes left in the first half. The Nanooks trimmed the deficit to one possession before Saint Martin's closed the half with an 8-2 run to give themselves a 38-29 lead heading into the break.
Sipe drained a three to open the second half and the Saints were on their way. With just over 13 minutes remining, SMU used a massive 25-10 run to give Saint Martin's a comfortable, 71-47 lead. Alaska made comeback efforts but it was too little too late and Saint Martin's secured the win, 83-61 and extended their win streak to nine games.
SMU's win featured excellent shooting from beyond-the-arc as Saint Martin's shot 43% from deep, 49% from the field and 70% from the charity stripe in the contest. Five different Saints recorded at least two made three-pointers and all five shot at least 40% from deep.
Nielsen-Skinner was very active on both ends of the floor as he recorded eight assists and tied his career-high in steals with four.
The Saints will be back home to conclude their regular season with their first game at home against Central Washington on February 23rd at 7:30 PM. Live stats and video will be available on smusaints.com.
