LACEY, Wash. – With their 58-55 victory over NNU, Saint Martin's has claimed its second consecutive regular season GNAC championship.
Tyke Thompson (19) and
Kyle Greeley (15) shouldered most of the scoring for the Saints (23-5, 15-3).
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner was determined to guide his team to victory with six points, six assists, four rebounds and four steals.
Hunter Sipe led the team in rebounds and heart with 11 and pair with his six points, two assists, two steals and a few game-sealing plays down the stretch.
After a rare double jump ball call,
Branden Bunn opened the game with a three pointer that sent SMU into a 14-3 run that put them up 14-3 with just under 14 minutes left in the half. The Nighthawks (12-14, 9-9) responded with a 15-4 run of their own to tie the game up 18-18 with six minutes remaining. NNU took the lead right before the end of the half and the Saints went into the break down 28-26.
Saint Martin's opened the second half with a 15-3 run that put them up 41-31 with 14 minutes remaining in the contest. NNU used a run of their own to bring the game back to one possession and Greeley and Thompson locked into keep the lead for the Saints. With just over four minutes left, Northwest Nazarene used a 6-0 run to tie the game up at 55 with two minutes remaining.
It was crunch time and the Saint Martin's needed someone to step up and Sipe answered the calls. He got fouled and made the first of the two to give SMU the lead 56-55. Sipe made the biggest defensive play of the night when he took a charge to give the Saints and extra possession with under a minute remaining and on the next possession Sipe snagged an offensive rebound off a Bunn missed floater and tipped it in to put Saint Martin's up 58-55. The Saints defense held up on the final shot attempt and Sipe closed out the game with his last rebound to give SMU the 55-58 win, the GNAC regular season title and the #1 seed heading into the conference tournament.
Head coach
Aaron Landon reflected on the game and his team's accomplishments with, "Our guys fought hard against a very tough and well-coached NNU team. We made a few plays at the end, specifically the charge Hunter took, followed by his offensive rebound put-back that won that game. Clinching the GNAC title on our home floor and cutting down the net was a magical moment for all of us. This championship is for Bob Grisham, he's somewhere in heaven drinking an IPA enjoying this incredible team we have."
SMU concludes the regular season averaging 81 points per game on 46% from the field, 38% from long range and 73% from free throw. Saint Martin's led the conference in scoring margin (+11.8), rebounding offense (1051), assists (488), assist to turnover ratio (1.5) and 3-point field goals made (312). The Saints were also second in conference in scoring offense (81.8), 3-point field goal percentage (.388), 3-point field goal defense (.330), rebounding margin (+3.8) and turnover margin (+2.75).
Saint Martin's will enjoy the win and the achievement for a moment before locking in and preparing for the GNAC tournament in Bellingham, Washington on March 2-4th. All games of the GNAC Basketball Championships will be live-streamed through the conference's YouTube channel, GNAC.tv.
Watch the highlights here:
