LACEY, WA — Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (7-0) took on the cross-town Geoducks of The Evergreen State College in a non-conference matchup this past Friday.

The Saints began the game with a balanced offensive attack that was led by Diego Trejo-Delgado. He would end the game with 20 points and go an impressive 9-12 (75%) from the field, along with seven boards, an assist, and a block. The offense would be aided on the perimeter by transfer guard Jacob Harper, who would go 4-8 (50%) from the three-point line and contribute six boards of his own throughout the game. The Geoducks would be able to keep pace with the Saints, however, thanks to their own perimeter attack. The Evergreen State College would go 6-13 (46%) from three in the first half, as the Geoducks were able to convert on open shot attempts. TESC would grab a lead towards the end of the first half, but the Saints would claw back and take a 50-40 lead going into halftime.

The second half would see the Saints play much better defense, with Immanuel Oludele cleaning the glass for nine rebounds on the day. He would be outdone only by Dae'Kwon Watson, who would have 11 rebounds as part of a career day for the junior. Watson would drop an astounding 30 points en route to nearly dropping a triple-double. And while he did have four assists, the triple-double was almost achieved with steals, as he would snag a total of eight possessions away from the Geoducks in a performance that was dominant on all front. Watson would lead the Saints to a dominant second half, where Jaden Nielsen-Skinner would chime in with nine points and Dyson Lighthall would tally seven of his own. Skinny would once again be an impressive on-court leader with ten assists and would have Omer Ege Peksari help him out with seven assists of his own. The Saints would keep their lead and ultimately win 92-77.

While some early defensive struggles kept the Geoducks in the fight, the Saints would ultimately do what they needed to to get the win. Head Coach Aaron Landon commented:

"We defended poorly, and we're fortunate to learn from it in a win. While our collective energy wasn't there, I though that both Dae'Kwon Watson and Jacob Harper provided great competitive energy. Dae'Kwon scored a lot tonight, but his true value this year is hard to quantify. He's just a winner that does the right stuff every single day."

The Saints return home on Thursday, November 21st, to face the Academy of Art. Get tickets here.