BILLINGS, MT — No. 25 Saint Martin's Men's Basketball (18-5, 7-3 GNAC) would follow up their successful homestand with a trip east this past Thursday to take on the Montana State Billings Yellowjackets in a GNAC contest.
The Saints would start the game on the right foot, trading leads with MSU-Billings as the contest began.
Immanuel Oludele would give SMU an early jolt with an and-one under-the-basket, but the Yellowjackets would respond with their own scoring run that would see them claim a double-digit lead halfway through the first half.
Myles Samuels would score 10 points and grab seven rebounds to help the Saints stay in the contest with
Jacob Harper contributing early and recording nine points exclusively on three-point shots. While the offense would begin to pick up their scoring production, the Yellowjackets would still hold a 34-29 lead going into halftime.
Marcel Stevens would get out to a much stronger start in the second half as he would begin to connect on long-range shots as the game continued. He would lead the Saints in scoring with 16 points on 6-11 (54.5%) shooting from the field and 4-8 (50%) from beyond the three-point line. The Saints would be able to tie the score back up to begin the second half, but Montana State Billings would see their three-point production begin to heat up.
Jayshawn Moore would record 10 points in his contributions to the Saints' offense while Oludele would total seven points, five rebounds, and a team-leading three steals on the defensive end to keep pace with the Yellowjackets. While Saint Martin's would stay within single digits of Montana State Billings through the final eight minutes of the game, the Yellowjackets would continue to find answers for the Saints on the scoring front and win the game, 73-65.
Diego Trejo-Delgado and
Dyson Lighthall would record four points each while
Jaden Nielsen-Skinner would end the game with five assists, three points, and three rebounds.
SMU Men's Basketball will be back in action on Saturday, February 1st at 4:15 PM as they take on the Seattle Pacific Falcons at the Royal Brougham Pavilion. You can get tickets
here.
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