Piggybacking from their hot form from preseason tournaments, the men’s basketball team of Saint Martin’s University opened conference play for the 2024-25 season with two wins, surviving their season opener with a 79-74 win over Alaska Anchorage on Dec. 5, and then a dominant 71-63 win against Alaska Fairbanks two days later.
After their #3-seed finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) last season, the Saints amped up their preparations for the 2024-25 season, winning nine games in preseason and losing only twice while sweeping the CCA Canadian Tip-Off Classic and the PacWest Conference Challenge along the way.
With crucial senior players leaving the Saints for professional club opportunities here and abroad, head coach Aaron Landon is expected to rely on his returning players, such as senior guard Myles Samuels, who had been consistent in the preseason as he won the GNAC player of the week with his performances in the CCA Canadian Tip-Off Classic, along with new recruits, such as 6 foot 11 inch forward Gavin Gilstrap and sophomore guard Omar Ege Peksari.
After their two wins in Alaska, they will close off 2024 with their final games of the year back at home at Marcus Pavilion against Cal State East Bay on Dec. 16 and Lincoln University on Dec. 17, before resuming GNAC play for 2025.
Saint Martin’s 79, Alaska Anchorage 74: Ghost of last year’s playoff loss vanquished
Last season, it was the #6-seed University of Alaska Anchorage who pulled off an upset win against the #3-seed Saints, 81-76, to knock SMU out of the GNAC trophy and the NCAA Division II West Region qualifier. As fate would have it, the Saints faced the Seawolves to open the season, and they finally pulled off vengeance of sorts.
The Saints opened the 2024-25 season with all fears of the past season lost, beating the GNAC trophy runner-up UAA Seawolves at the Alaska Airlines Center, 79-74, for the first time since February 2023.
The team effort of the Saints was on full display in their opening game as five players went on to score double digits. Senior guard Myles Samuels led the scoring with 16, while forwards Diego Trejo-Delgado and Dyson Lighthall contributed 15 and 13 points, respectively. Immanuel Odulele also gave 12 points while on limited minutes from the bench, while Marcel Stevens had 11.
Starting floor general Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, despite his undersized stature, went mad, having almost half of the team’s assists with 11 as he played the most minutes in the match for the Saints. The Seawolves’ Tyler Burraston led the scoring with 22.
It was a tense match from the start as the Saints, despite having early advantages, still couldn’t hold the hosts out of a pickle. They extended their lead up to nine points in the opening half, but late runs from the Seawolves forced a 40-40 deadlock at halftime.
The hosts took the early lead in the second half, but that was short-lived after back-to-back threes from Trejo-Delgado and Samuels killed off their momentum. The Seawolves tried to get back the lead, but the Saints were just too much, thanks to the team’s perfect execution of plays and their hot shooting form of 46.67% from beyond the 3-point arc in the second half to seal the victory.
Another factor for this opening win for the Saints is their control of the rebounds, as they outmatched the Seawolves on boards 37-32, which led to more second chance points, along with their dominance on the paint, thanks to their newly recruited big men.
"Road games in the GNAC are so tough, but tonight we got better as the game went on. We took care of the ball and did a better job controlling the glass in the second half. I'm really proud of our guys; they stayed focused and kept fighting," said head coach Aaron Landon on his team’s efficiency in the match.
Saint Martin’s 71, Alaska Fairbanks 63: Road trip to Alaska successful with sweep
Two days after their season opener win, the Saints went marching in as they did easy work in beating the Alaska Fairbanks Nanooks, 71-63, at Patty Center.
The Saints were much more composed in this game, as the squad depth was on full display, with all nine players on the travelling roster scoring at least one point and one rebound.
Marcel Stevens led the scoring with 16 points in 27 minutes, while Myles Samuels had 15 points and nine rebounds, just one short of a double-double. Diego Trejo-Delgado led the team on boards with 10.
From the opening jump ball, the Saints dominated the game, extending an early 15-6 lead up to 18 points, the largest lead of the game at 34-16. The first half then ended at 42-27 in favor of the Saints, as the visitors were scorching with 50% from 3-point range and at 44.44% overall shooting, while the Nanooks struggled to score, missing all their 12 attempts from beyond the arc.
The hosts then had the proper adjustments in the second half while the Saints took the opportunity to rotate the squad and give proper minutes to the squad’s benchwarmers.
The Nanooks then slowly crawled back, with the comeback trail led by their top scorer Isaiah Saams-Hoy cutting the lead up to 4 points with five minutes left, but that would be as close as they got to taking the lead, as the Saints would ultimately take advantage of their final possessions with their paint dominance and rigid defense system to win, 71-63.
The two wins in Alaska got the Saints leading early in the GNAC table, along with 2022-23 GNAC champs Northwest Nazarene and current defending GNAC champions Central Washington, with both also winning their pair of games this week.
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