Saints suffer two consecutive losses after 5-0 start

The Saint Martin's University men’s basketball team suffered two close defeats away from home after starting the season with five straight wins.

The Saints wasted a 10-point lead in the closing minutes of a 77-75 loss to Western Washington University (WWU) in Bellingham on Jan. 16, and then gave up a halftime advantage against Simon Fraser University in a 80-77 defeat in British Columbia on Jan. 18.

The losses left the Saints with a conference record of 5-2.

Confident from their then-unbeaten streak, the Saints found themselves in a rut early in the first half at WWU, as the Vikings opened up an early 23-15 lead.

But the visitors clawed their way back to the lead to two points right before halftime.

The Saints carried the momentum into the second half to take an early lead, which ballooned to 67-57 with seven minutes left  behind the 3-point shooting of Immanuel Oludele and Marcel Stevens.

 But the shooting ran dry as the Saints missed shots in the paint, while giving out free throws. That helped the Vikings even up the score with four seconds left in the game.  

Tijan Saine of the Vikings delivered the knockout punch with a buzzer-beating floater to hand the Saints their first conference defeat this season. Diego Trejo-Delgado led the Saints in scoring with 18, while Oludele led the team with eight rebounds.

Two days later, the Saints traveled north of the border to Canada as they faced Simon Fraser.

They built a quick advantage in the first half to lead 38-32 before the break. But then the tide turned as Zach Stone and Luke Howard of the Red Leafs took turns scoring to force a 43-43 tie.

But it seemed like bad luck struck again as Zach Stone and Luke Howard of the Red Leafs took turns to climb back and force a 43-43 tie before finally getting the lead.

The Red Leafs went on to win the contest 80-77.

Five Saints tallied double digits in scoring, while the Red Leafs won their second conference game of the season. 

Despite the two-game losing streak, Saint Martin’s still sits in third, tied with Alaska Fairbanks with their 5-2 record in the conference. Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington were tied at the top spot with 6-1 records.. 

The Saints will attempt to snap out of their losing slump, as they will host the top two men’s basketball table teams this weekend.

They will first face the Central Washington Wildcats on Thursday, Jan. 23, and then the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks on Saturday, Jan. 25, with both games being held at Marcus Pavilion in Lacey.

Information courtesy of Saint Martin's University Athletics.