Saint Martin’s men head into GNAC play with 7-3 record

Following a pair of routs last week, the Saint Martin’s University men’s basketball team carries a two-game winning streak into its 11-day holiday break.

Led by Brandon Kenilvort’s 20 points, the Saints cruised to a 93-50 win over Capilano University on Dec. 16 — they had a 28-point lead at the half.

Three days later, SMU capitalized on an early 15-2 run to best Quest University (British Columbia), 74-33.

The Saints forced 20 turnovers — which they converted into 22 points – and recorded 40 points in the paint.

More than half of SMU’s points came from the bench — of the 15 players that saw time, 14 contributed points. The Saints were again led by Kenilvort, who scored 12.

“We have a lot of different guys who can contribute on the floor, so I was glad we were able to show our depth,” first-year Saint Martin’s coach Alex Pribble said.

The Saints have won six of their last eight to improve to 7-3 (1-1 Great Northwest Athletic Conference).

And they have yet to drop a contest at Marcus Pavilion.

“It’s been a successful preseason,” Pribble said. “Defending our home court is very important to us, so we value our 5-0 mark at Marcus Pavilion.

“With that said, we know we have a long way to go in order to compete with the top teams in the GNAC.”

All 18 of SMU’s remaining regular season games are conference matchups.

The Saints host University of Alaska at Fairbanks at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31.

“Our focus remains on the process, and we will continue to improve,” Pribble said.

Geoducks can’t hold on vs. Owls

Danny Powell’s team-high 24 points weren’t enough as The Evergreen State College dropped a 94-81 conference matchup to Oregon Tech on Sunday.

The Owls clawed back from an early 12-point deficit to end a 10-game Cascade Collegiate Conference drought at TESC’s expense.

The Geoducks (5-8, 2-3 CCC) have lost four of their past five.

TESC travels to College of Idaho on Dec. 30 to continue conference play.

This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Saint Martin’s men head into GNAC play with 7-3 record."