LACEY, WA — Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (18-4, 7-2 GNAC) squared off against Northwest Nazarene this past Thursday in a battle for GNAC supremacy, as both teams came into the contest as the top-two teams in the conference rankings.

The Saints would open the game with a flurry of threes from Marcel Stevens, Myles Samuels, and Diego Trejo-Delgado to take an early lead. Stevens would go on to score 10 points, record three assists, and snag two steals while Samuels would record seven points and eight rebounds in his 35 minutes on the court. The Nighthawks would respond to the Saints' pressure with a long-ranged attack of their own and capitalize on a series of turnovers that would result in NNU taking a lead around 12 minutes into the contest. SMU would continue to fight back, but Northwest Nazarene would keep up the pace on offense and hold onto a 33-26 lead at halftime over Saint Martin's.

The Nighthawks would keep up their pace for the first portion of the second half, extending their lead to as many as 15 points before the Saints would find a response to their scoring momentum. The defense would begin to tighten down as the game continued, with Dyson Lighthall and Immanuel Oludele combining for 12 rebounds, 11 points, three steals, and a block in the paint to keep the Saints in it. Offensively, Trejo-Delgado would provide the spark the Saints so desperately needed to begin the climb back on the scoreboard. He would end the contest with a team-leading 18 points, five rebounds, and two assists as the driving force behind the comeback the Saints would attempt to mount. Jaden Nielsen-Skinner would find the basket in the second half, putting up seven points, five assists, and four rebounds while Omer Ege Peksari would chime in with two clutch baskets as SMU continued to chip away at NNU's lead. With 1:25 left on the clock, the Saints would claim their first lead of the game since the first half on a Lighthall layup that would put the score at 56-54. The Nighthawks would miss on a series of three-point shots at the end of the game, and as time ticked down, the Saints would take advantage of NNU fouls to pull away and win the contest 58-54, completing their largest comeback of the season against the top team in the GNAC standings.

Head Coach Aaron Landon was extremely impressed with the team's efforts and focus throughout the game and how they came out energized in the second half:

"[This past Saturday was] a huge step forward for us, not just in the GNAC race, but in how we played from behind and stayed together when things weren't going well. Great teams get better as the game goes on and tonight we did that. I've been really impressed with Associate Head Coach Tyler Velasquez's creativity and in-game adjustments. The way our team defended ion the second half was phenomenal, and that's what put us in a position to win a big game against a really good team."

SMU Men's Basketball is currently tied for first place in the GNAC following last week's wins over Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene and look to extend their win streak on Thursday, January 30th as they take on Montana State Billings on the road at 6:00 PM PST. You can get tickets here.