DENVER, CO — Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (9-2) traveled to the Mile High City during the Thanksgiving break to compete in Metro State's Thanksgiving Classic and to take on the Regis Rangers in out-of-conference action.

The team's first matchup was on Friday, November 29th against the Metro State Roadrunners. The Saints would open the game trying to get the offense on-pace, but the Roadrunners would do a good job of grabbing rebounds and capitalizing on missed shots. Marcel Stevens and Dyson Lighthall would spearhead the scoring efforts for the Saints, with Stevens contributing three-pointers and layups early on and Lighthall leading the team with 13 points during the game. Immanuel Oludele would lead SMU on the boards with 11 total rebounds and eight points, while Omer Ege Peksari would chime in with nine points of his own. Despite the Saints' best efforts, Metro State would hold on to their double-digit lead for the remainder of the game, as the Roadrunner offense would find their rhythm to balloon their lead to as many as 36 points in the second half. The Saints would end up dropping the contest, 76-56. The Saints would head to the Regis Field House the next day to shake off a two-game losing streak.

Diego Trejo-Delgado would take command early on in the Saints' second game of the trip against the Rangers, scoring 16 points in total, including a flurry of points within the first few minutes of play. Trejo-Delgado would also lead the Saints with six rebounds, which would be matched only by Oludele in another standout defensive performance from the transfer guard. SMU would jump out to an early advantage, but Regis would claw back to flip the momentum, going into halftime with a 42-34 lead over the Saints. The second half would see the Rangers keep their lead, matching the Saints' offensive attack with their own balanced approach. Myles Samuels would begin to heat up, however, and would go on to score 16 of his 17 total points in the second half. Samuels would provide the offensive spark that the Saints needed to flip the game in their favor. Lighthall would drop ten points and four boards, while Jaden Nielsen-Skinner would contribute nine assists throughout the game. SMU would grab their first lead of the second half with just under six minutes left to play and would never let it go, winning the contest 76-71 after a scrappy final few minutes of play.

Jaden Nielsen-Skinner would reach a career milestone in the win over the Rangers, breaking the Saint Martin's Men's Basketball assist record previously held by Jake Linton. As of December 3rd, 2024, Skinny is at 502 career assists, cementing his place in Saint Martin's history.

Saints Men's Basketball will travel to the state of Alaska later this week to open up conference play against Alaska Anchorage on Thursday, December 5th, and Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday, December 7th.