• FINAL STATS (html)

SEATTLE – Luke Chavez scored 27 points Tuesday, including a buzzer-beater at halftime and two second-half jumpers that beat the shot clock, leading Saint Martin's to an 80-73 Great Northwest Athletic Conference men's basketball win over Seattle Pacific at Brougham Pavilion.
 
Chavez made just 1 of 7 shots from 3-point range, but was 9-for-12 inside the arc and a perfect 6 of 6 at the free throw line. He compiled 10 of the Saints' final 15 points during the last four minutes to secure the decision. Chavez netted the team's first two baskets in that span, both of them with long jumpers that narrowly avoided shot-clock violations.
 
"You want the same level of intensity on every possession, the same level of discipline on every possession. We're not going to shut teams out. They're going to make tough shots," said SPU coach Grant Leep. "Luke Chavez has made tough shots all year long, that's one of the things that make him such a good player.
 
"But we need to have the ability to then come back and guard like that again and again and not have the breakdowns where he is getting the shots that's giving him the rhythm to then have that feel and be able to make those."
 
The Falcons closed within 69-66 on a three-point play by Harry Cavell, but SMU's EJ Boyce nailed a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock and Chavez followed with two free throws that gave the visitors an insurmountable 76-68 lead with 36.5 seconds to play.
 
Cavell and Gabe Colosimo each tallied career-high 16-point totals to pace SPU (10-6), which dropped to 5-4 in GNAC play with its second straight loss.

 

Gavin Long added 12 points, on 4-of-5 shooting, and distributed five assists for the Falcons. Coleman Wooten finished with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
 
Boyce joined Chavez in double figures for the Saints with 17 points, 15 of them coming on 10 attempts from 3-point range.
 
The Saints (12-5) improved to 5-4 to move into a fourth-place tie with SPU in the GNAC standings. They notched their fourth consecutive victory in meetings with the Falcons, but still trail 97-38 in the all-time series.
 
"The depth of our conference is just remarkable. It's such a fine line between the top of the league to the bottom," Leep said. "If you don't come ready to play hard, with purpose and with pace, like we try to teach our guys, things like this happen.
 
"We got into a pretty big grinder with a good team that came ready to play and played very hard."
 
The Falcons utilized an early 9-2 run to forge a 13-6 edge less than six minutes into the contest. The lead was 20-13 before seven straight SMU points evened the score. Jordan Kitchen got in the passing lane to steal a pass and scored on a fastbreak dunk for a 20-20 score with 8:38 left in the first half.
 
After SPU reclaimed the lead on a 3-pointer by Colosimo, the Saints got back-to-back baskets to capture their first lead. A steal and fastbreak layup by Chavez put them ahead 24-23 at the 7:27 mark.
 
Neither team gained more than three points of separation the rest of the half and Saint Martin's led 38-36 at the break after Chavez banked in a jump shot from behind the free throw line as the game clock expired.
 
The hosts took a brief second-half edge, at 41-40 after Colosimo followed a 3-pointer with a two-point jumper. The score was tied 43-43 before the Saints staged a 9-2 spree to move ahead for good.
 
Tavian Henderson fueled the run with two dunks, the first on a steal and fastbreak and the second from a backdoor pass that provided a 52-45 SMU advantage with 12:31 remaining.
 
The Falcons scored the next five points, on two Wooten free throws and trey by Long, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Boyce and BJ Standley stretched the lead again to 65-57.
 
For the third straight game SPU utilized just eight players. Illness and injuries have depleted the roster, sidelining Sharif Khan, Trey Miller and Sam Simpson.
 
Also out with an injury is Trey's brother, Tony Miller, SPU's leading scorer who missed the last four games. The sophomore forward, who was the 2017 GNAC Freshman of the Year, is averaging 18.0 points and 6.2 rebounds.
 
"When we only have eight guys in the rotation, our margin for error shrinks and we need everybody to contribute their best every time we step on the court, "Leep said.
 
"Gabe played a nice game tonight, he did a really good job competing. Harry came off the bench again and he just gets better and better every time we play. Then Gavin had a nice, solid ballgame. He was so efficient."
 
The Falcons conclude their current four-game homestand on Thursday against Montana State Billings. Tip-off is 5:15 p.m. in Brougham Pavilion as the opener of a doubleheader with the women, who meet Alaska Fairbanks at 7:30 p.m.
 
That will be the fourth game in an eight-day stretch for the weary SPU men.
 
"I never want to use that as an excuse. We are accustomed to playing very hard, that's what we do," said Leep. "Tonight, we got off to a decent start and then we let them find a rhythm.
 
"Thursday is an even quicker turn around because the first game of the doubleheader. Billings is playing great and they shoot the ball extremely well. We need to be ready to defend and have that become part of who we are as a team."
 
 
NCAA MEN'S BASKETBALL
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2018
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.
 
Saint Martin's 80, at Seattle Pacific 73
 
SAINT MARTIN'S (12-5, 5-4 GNAC)
Dahlen 1-2 0-2 2, Kitchen 3-5 2-3 8, Baerlocher 2-5 2-2 8, Boyce 5-12 2-2 17, Chavez 10-19 6-6 27, Henderson 4-6 0-2 8, Standley 2-8 3-4 8, Chatwin 0-1 2-3 2, Mathews 0-4 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-62 17-24 80.
 
SEATTLE PACIFIC (10-6, 5-4 GNAC)
Streufert 1-6 2-2 4, Wooten 2-7 4-5 9, Lizotte 2-6 1-2 5, Colosimo 5-9 4-4 16, Long 4-5 3-5 12, Cavell 5-9 6-6 16, Eisenhower 3-6 0-0 9, Olsen 0-4 2-2 2. Totals 22-52 22-26 73.
 
Saint Martin's................   38   42  -   80
Seattle Pacific...............   36   37  -   73
 
3-point goals--SMU 9-25 (Boyce 5-10, Baerlocher 2-4, Chavez 1-7, Standley 1-2, Chatwin 0-1, Kitchen 0-1), SPU 7-18 (Eisenhower 3-6, Colosimo 2-3, Long 1-1, Wooten 1-3, Olsen 0-1, Lizotte 0-2, Cavell 0-2). Fouled out--SMU-None, SPU-None. Rebounds--SMU 37 (Henderson, Standley 6), SPU 34 (Wooten 10). Assists--SMU 10 (Standley 4), SPU 13 (Long 5). Total fouls--SMU 21, SPU 20. Technical fouls--SMU-None, SPU-None. A-214
 
 
Next SPU Men's Basketball Game
Montana State Billings at Seattle Pacific
Thursday, Jan. 18, 5:15 p.m. PST
Brougham Pavilion / Seattle, Wash.