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January 19, 2008 Lacey, WA – Saint Martin’s boasted strong offensive numbers on their way to defeating Seattle University, 88-77, in Great Northwest Athletic Conference action Saturday night at the SMU Pavilion. The Saints shot 65.4 percent (17-26) from the field in the first half with Jake Linton picking up 18 of his game high 27 points, sinking 4-4 threes and 6-6 from the line. Linton finished the night a perfect 12-12 from the line and 5-6 from behind the arc. “Jake was outstanding tonight,” said head coach Keith Cooper. “He did a great job taking care of the ball, not turning it over and making big shots.” Seattle scored first in the game and maintained the slight edge for the first six minutes but a jumper by Bill Richardson, who had 14 points on the night, would put SMU on top. With 10:13 on the clock the score was tied 22-22. The Saints would hold the Redhawks scoreless for the next five minutes while they poured in 12 unanswered points as part of a 17-3 run that put SMU up by 14. Saint Martin’s would take a 15 point lead into the break. “We controlled the tempo from the beginning,” said Brendan Campbell. The Redhawks failed to make up any ground in the second half as the Saints extended their lead to 20 in the first two minutes. Their biggest lead of the game came at the 15:15 mark on a jumper by Michael McIver that put them up by 23. Seattle sank a couple of threes and made good on four free throws in the final minute but it was no good as the Saints picked up the victory. “We didn’t want to come out flat,” said Nick Smith. “We wanted to keep it on them the entire game and we did a great job.” McIver posted a total 12 points for the Saints while Campbell added 11 and pulled down eight boards. Saint Martin’s converted 24 of 35 at the line while SU was just 12 of 19. “We played our game tonight,” said Blake Poole. The Saints improve to 9-6 on the season and 4-2 in conference. The loss drops Seattle to 2-3 in the GNAC and 9-5 overall. “This was a great win and gives us a lot of momentum going into the next game,” said McIver. “We definitely win as a team,” said Cooper. “If we keep playing hard there are a lot of good things that are going to happen.” The Saints are back on the road next week as they head to Northwest Nazarene University to battle with the Crusaders.
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