LACEY, WA — No. 16 Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (8-1) hosted the Academy of Art Urban Knights and the Point Loma Nazarene Sea Lions this past week in out-of-conference contests.

On Thursday, November 21st, the Saints would face off against a scrappy ART U team that would keep themselves on pace with a highly efficient SMU offense. Nonetheless, the Saints would only give up the lead once in the first half. The scoring efforts were highlighted by Marcel Stevens, who would score 22 points on 6-12 (50%) shooting from the three-point line. He would be supported by Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, who would score 12 points and contribute ten assists to post a double-double on the evening. Dae'Kwon Watson and Dyson Lighthall would score 11 and ten points respectively, while Gavin Gilstrap would lead the team in the paint with eight boards. The second half would see an invigorated Urban Knights team get more aggressive on the scoring front which would still keep them within striking distance of the Saints. Diego Trejo-Delgado would make an impact during the second half to add another element to SMU's offense, totaling nine points and seven rebounds. In the final minute of the game, the Urban Knights would hit a big three-point shot to make it a single-possession contest, but the Saints would fend off a final shot attempt to escape ART U 76-74.

The Saints would face another formidable opponent just two days later on November 23rd as they would host 17th-ranked Point Loma in a Saturday night top-25 matchup. SMU would be faced with depth issues heading into the game due to injuries, which made their offense much more top-heavy than the team has usually shown during the early portion of their season, with five players scoring 13 or more points. The starting five of Stevens, Trejo-Delgado, Lighthall, Skinny, and Myles Samuels would see most of the action during the game, with Stevens once again leading the scoring efforts with a team-high 26 points on 10-15 shooting from the field. Trejo-Delgado would finish with 20 points of his own, while Lighthall would record a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. However, the Sea Lions would be able to match the Saints' offensive firepower with a counterattack led by Zack Paulsen that saw efficient shooting from the field and three-point line. SMU would play competitive defense, but PLNU would continue to land contested shots and challenge whatever the Saints threw at them. The game would continue to be a back-and-forth affair for its entirety, and while the Saints would be in a position to take the lead in the second half on multiple occasions, PLNU would give the lead up only once in the second half. Late free throws would seal the game for Point Loma as the Saints would drop their first game of the season, 92-88.

The Saints will travel to Denver, Colorado, to compete in the Metro State Thanksgiving Classic from Friday, November 29th, through Saturday, November 30th.