LACEY, WA — Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (17-4, 6-2 GNAC) looked to get back on track from the previous week's close losses as they hosted the Central Washington Wildcats on Thursday night to close out Pack The Pav.

The Wildcats would get out to a strong start in the contest's first minutes with a flurry of early three-pointers that the Saints would find themselves having to catch up to. Once the offense got in rhythm, it was a whole new ballgame for Saint Martin's as they would produce one of their most balanced offensive performances of the year. The team would be led by SMU's all-time assist leader Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, who would contribute 10 points and get close to his first triple-double of the season with eight assists and an astounding seven steals, almost matching the output of CWU's entire lineup in the forced turnover category. Marcel Stevens would match Skinny's 10 points while Dyson Lighthall would score nine and account for four rebounds. The team's scoring efforts would compound throughout the first half, and Saint Martin's would hold a 44-27 lead over the Wildcats heading into halftime.

The second half would see the Saints continue to display their depth and productivity, with Immanuel Oludele scoring seven points in his efforts, while Myles Samuels and Jayshawn Moore would dominate the boards with 10 rebounds apiece. Central Washington would begin to land threes to get within single digits of Saint Martin's, but the Saints would continue to outpace the Wildcats through the end of the contest. Samuels and Diego Trejo-Delgado would each contribute seven points to the final score while Moore and Gavin Gilstrap would each score six. Omer Ege Peksari would score the final four points of the contest for SMU as they would claim a 67-55 win over CWU, who would come into the game as the second-ranked squad in the GNAC Men's Basketball standings.

Associate Head Coach Tyler Velasquez was glad to see the team rebound quickly from the week prior in their balanced effort:

"I am really proud of how our guys bounced back after a tough week last week. Central is a really talented and well-coached team and we knew we would have to be at our best. It's always good to have a really well-balanced game where everyone contributes and plays meaningful minutes. We can be happy with that win, but we need to quickly turn our focus to another really good NNU team."

The Saints' win over Central Washington moves them up to second overall in the GNAC Men's Basketball standings, and they will host the first-place Nighthawks this Saturday, January 25th, at 5:15 PM in one of the most anticipated matchups of the season. You can get tickets here, and reserve your spot for the Warming Up With The Saints tailgate at 2:00 PM before the Women's Basketball game!