February 6, 2010
Bellingham, WA – Western Washington shot 62.7 percent to defeat Saint Martin’s 88-68 in great Northwest Athletic Conference game Thursday night on Haggen Court at Sam Carver Gymnasium.
After Western took a 43-36 lead into halftime, the Saints rallied to open the second half with a 9-2 run to make it a one point game, 45-44. But the Vikings ran off the next seven points to take an eight point advantage. The margin would never be less than six the rest of the way.
Blake Poole had a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds for SMU, who fell to 11-9 overall and 1-8 in the GNAC. Jared Howard added 15 points on the night as the Saints shot 50 percent from the field. Jeremy Green scored 12 points and Galen Squiers had 10.
Rory Blance came off the bench to lead the Vikings with 20 points, going nine for 10 from the field. Derrick Webb added 19 points and Morris Anderson tacked on 15 for WWU, No. 18 in this week’s NABC/NCAA DII Top 25 Pool and No. 2 in the West Region Poll.
The Saints return home for a conference matchup against Montana State Billings on Thursday, February 11.