HILO, Hawaii — The Saint Martin's Men's Basketball team was victorious in its 2025-26 season opener, defeating Westmont 96-88 at the GNAC-PacWest Conference Tournament in Hilo, Hawaii on Friday, November 14.

Five Saints scored in double figures, led by a career-high 26 from Kaden Hansen. The win marked the fifth consecutive season that Saint Martin's has started off the year with a win.

How it Happened

First Half

• The Saints trailed 7-2 early, but later took a 10-9 lead with a layup by Dae'Kwon Watson with 15:09 remaining in the first half.
• A 7-0 run midway through the first half saw SMU build up a 22-14 lead with 9:35 left in the first.
• SMU built its biggest lead of the first half with a pair of Pablo Navarro free-throws at the 6:21 mark, as the Saints led 30-20.
• Westmont fought back to close the gap, eventually tying the game at 37-37 with just over two minutes remaining in the half. After the game shifted to 40-40 with 39 seconds remaining, a free-throw by Navarro put the Saints up 41-10 heading into halftime. The Saints limited the Warriors to 28.6% shooting in the first half and held a 30-22 rebounding advantage.

Second Half

• After a close start to the second half, the Saints started to build a larger advantage. Kaden Hansen hit back-to-back three-pointers, putting the Saints up 55-49 with 15:40 remaining in regulation.
• Another three by Hansen at the 10:50 mark put the Saints up 65-55.
• The Saints extended the advantage to 72-59 with 7:12 remaining, as Dae'Kwon Watson hit a three-pointer off an assist from Omer Ege Peksari.
• SMU pushed its lead to 15, before a 16-5 run by Westmont trimmed the Saint Martin's lead to 82-78 with 2:18 remaining.
• The Saints answered back with back-to-back threes by Dae'Kwon Watson and Patrick Kilfoil to move the lead back to 10 (88-78) with 1:34 remaining.
• The Warriors hit two three-pointers in the final 30 seconds, but the Saints converted free-throws down the stretch to win by a final score of 96-88.

Top Performers

• Kaden Hansen led the way with 26 points off 8-18 shooting, going 6-11 from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds and two assists.
• Dae'Kwon Watson (17), Diego Trejo-Delgado (14), Patrick Kilfoil (13), and Mark Clegg Jr. all scored in double figures.
• Kilfoil added seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals.
• Trejo-Delgado led the Saints with 11 rebounds, recording a double-double.

Team Stat of the Game

The Saints dominated the boards, holding a 49-39 advantage in team rebounding. 

Up Next

The Saints will face Hawaii Hilo on Day 2 of the GNAC-PacWeest Conference Challenge at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15.