ANCHORAGE, AK & FAIRBANKS, AK — No. 25 Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (11-2, 2-0 GNAC) opened their conference schedule on the road against Alaska Anchorage and Alaska Fairbanks.

The Saints would take on the Seawolves first, facing UAA on Thursday, December 5th. The offense would hit the ground running, with multiple Saints scoring early to give SMU as much as a nine-point lead in the first half. Myles Samuels would lead the team in points, scoring 16 while grabbing four boards and contributing an assist. Diego Trejo-Delgado would be just behind him with 15 points, nine rebounds, four assists, a block, and a steal in a masterfully balanced performance from the sophomore. The Seawolves would keep themselves within striking distance, but the Saints would be able to stay one step ahead thanks to the leadership of Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, who would score eight points and contribute a team-high 11 assists in an impressive performance from the point guard. SMU and UAA would be tied at halftime 40-40, but points in the paint to start the second half would get the Saints back ahead. Dyson Lighthall, Immanuel Oludele, and Marcel Stevens would combine for 36 points and 15 rebounds in what would be a major contributor to keeping Saint Martin's in the lead, and while the Seawolves and Saints would swap leads in the middle of the half, the Saints would ultimately pull back ahead and claim the victory, 79-74.

Head Coach Aaron Landon noted that an efficient night on the boards stood out to him in the victory:

"Road games in the GNAC are so tough, but tonight we got better as the game went on. We took care of the ball and did a better job controlling the glass in the second half. I'm really proud of our guys; they stayed focused and kept fighting."

Saint Martin's would travel into the heart of Alaska just two days later to take on the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks. The Saints would take control early in the game thanks to another standout performance from Samuels, who would score 15 points and grab nine rebounds. He would only be surpassed by Stevens, who would score 16 points while shooting 4-8 (50%) from the three-point line in another stellar shooting performance from the senior. SMU would hold a 42-27 lead going into halftime, but the Nanooks would make the necessary adjustments to close the gap as the game wore on. The efforts of Oludele and Omer Ege Peksari would help prevent a UAF comeback, as they would score eight points each and combine for 11 rebounds. Trejo-Delgado would have a much heavier defensive presence, grabbing ten boards, three assists, three blocks, and two steals while putting up seven points. The Nanooks would only trail by four points in the final five minutes of the game, but that would be as close as they got to taking the lead, as the Saints would ultimately take advantage of their final possessions and win, 71-63.

SMU Men's Basketball will wrap up the 2024 calendar year with two contests — Monday, December 16th against Cal State East Bay, and Tuesday, December 17th against Lincoln as part of a double-header. You can get tickets here.