BELLINGHAM, Wash. — The No. 18 Saint Martin's Men's Basketball team was defeated 90-81 at Western Washington on Saturday, February 14, splitting the season series 1-1.

The Saints held a four-point lead at halftime, but a late effort in the second half by the Vikings ultimately tilted the game toward Western Washington. The loss dropped the Saints' record to 19-5 overall and 11-3 in GNAC play.

How It Happened

First Half

• The start of the game was back-and-forth, as neither team led by more than two possessions through the first 13:21 of game action. 
• After a 17-17 tie at the 12:41 mark, Saint Martin's started to pull ahead and later went on a 8-2 run that saw the team jump ahead 32-24 with 6:18 left in the half.
• The Vikings answered with a run of their own, going up 35-34 with 2:03 on the clock.
• A 7-0 run by the Saints that saw buckets from Anthony Simo, Kaden Hansen, and Jahmarian Forrester put the Saints back ahead 41-35 with under a minute to play in the half.
• A last-second layup by the Vikings trimmed the Saints' lead to 43-39 heading into halftime.

Second Half

• The Vikings opened the second half on an 11-2 run that saw the Saints fall behind 50-45 with 16:25 on the clock.
• The Saints trailed by as much as seven early in the second half, but fought back to retake the lead on a Kaden Hansen three-pointer, going up 62-61 with 9:43 left to play.
• Both teams exchanged the lead in the ensuing possessions, before Saint Martin's made a big push to go up 73-65 with 6:14 remaining.
• A 5-0 run in response by the Vikings trimmed the Saint Martin's lead to 73-69 with 4:36 on the clock.
• A pair of free-throws by Western Washington tied the game at 75-75 with 3:15 to go. 
• A layup by Pablo Navarro at the 2:15 mark put the Saints up 78-77, but ultimately this proved to be the final lead of the game for Saint Martin's.
• Western Washington responded with a three-pointer on the ensuing possession, before pushing ahead 84-78 with 53 seconds remaining and forcing empty possessions by the Saints. 
• Deigo Trejo-Delgado earned a trip to the free-throw line with 36 seconds to go and Jahmarian Foster hit a late layup, but the Vikings converted free-throws down the stretch and made key stops to defeat the Saints 90-81.

Top Performers

• Kaden Hansen led the Saints with 27 points and added five assists, four rebounds, and three steals. The performance marked Hansen's seventh 25-point game of the season.
• Diego Trejo-Delgado scored 19 points and tallied 11 rebounds and three assists, his third double-double of the season.
• Pablo Navarro scored 13 points and Jahmarian Forrester added 10 points and seven rebounds.

Up Next

The Saints will return to Lacey for the final two home games of the season, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Feb. 19 and Central Washington on Feb. 21 for Homecoming.