Portland, Ore. — The Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) today announced that Saint Martin's Men's Basketball is the GNAC Team of the Week for December 29 - January 4.

The Saints are off to a stellar 12-2 start to the season, opening GNAC play 4-0 and sitting atop the conference standings. Saint Martin's went 2-0 on the road against conference opponents this past week, winning a back-and-forth affair against the reigning GNAC champions Seattle Pacific and defeating No. 23 Montana State Billings 87-68. The Saints out-scored the Yellowjackets by 20 in the second half, and limited MSUB to just one made field goal in the final nine minutes of game action to take a top-25 victory on the road.

The wins last week extended the Saints' winning streak to nine straight, which is tied for the third longest winning streak in program history. Saint Martin's leads the GNAC with a +20.6 scoring margin, and ranks second in both points per game (85.5) and least points allowed per game (64.9). 

The Saints' stifling defense is holding opponents to 38% from the field, which is the best defensive rating of all GNAC schools this year. Beyond the arc, Saint Martin's leads the conference with 11.1 made three-pointers per game, and is tops in the GNAC with an opponent three-point percentage of 27.9%.

The Saints are back in action this week in Lacey, hosting Western Oregon at 5:15 p.m. on Jan. 10.