February 11, 2010
Lacey, WA – Blake Poole and Galen Squiers combined for 54 points as Saints Martin’s took down Montana State Billings 87-72 on Thursday night in a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game at the Marcus Pavilion.
Poole scored a game-high 28 points, on 10 of 12 shooting, and pulled down 12 rebounds on the way to his conference leading 13th double-double of the season. Squiers posted a career high 26 points hitting seven treys on the night.
Also scoring in double figures for the Saints were Jared Howard with 15 points and Jeremy Green with 12. Brady Bomber dished out 10 assists in the game.
“We shared the ball a lot better than we have been,” said Squiers. “Tonight we hit from the perimeter which opened things up for Blake.”
With the score tied 7-7 early in the first half, Howard hit a three to put the Saints on top for good. The Saints held onto a 43-39 lead at the break which they would build to as much as 18 in the second half.
“We determined the tempo the whole game. Everybody stayed on them and played with more purpose,” said Green.
DeAndre Chambers paced the Yellowjackets with 21 points and Brad Hodge picked up a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
The Saints took care of the ball with just six turnovers in the game while forcing 10 from Billings; though the Yellowjackets did hold the slight edge on the boards 38-36.
“This was a good team victory,” said assistant coach Dan Barfoot. “They did a fantastic job of staying together, taking care of the ball and getting great shots.”
SMU will hit the road, heading to Nampa, ID, to face Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, February 13th.