1/29/26
Montana State Billings Yellowjackets 77, #11 Saint Martin’s Saints 71
(Lacey, WA) The Saint Martin’s Saints Men’s Basketball team’s historic win streak reached 14 games, and the Saints were looking to add to it. Saint Martin’s had already defeated Montana State Billings on the road with a terrific second half, but the Yellowjackets were looking to sting the Saints on Pack The Pav night.
The first half was very back-and-forth to start, with neither team really taking a firm hold of the game. Saint Martin’s went on a 10-1 run to go up 28-22 with eight minutes left in the half. Montana State Billings came back to finish the half on a 15-4 run and took a 37-32 lead heading into the second half. Montana State Billings saw their lead rise up to 43-34 early in the half. The Saints came back to within five, but the Yellowjackets quickly saw their lead jump up to 12 points. Saint Martin’s clawed their way down to a four-point deficit with just under five minutes left. Saint Martin’s got to within a point at 69-68 after Diego Trejo-Delgado sunk a pair of free throws. The Saints made a defensive stop but couldn’t score on the offensive end. Montana State Billings hit a three-pointer and a layup to go up by six points with 30 seconds left, and pulled off the upset, 77-71.
Saint Martin’s was led by Kaden Hansen, who had a game-high 26 points, 17 of them in the second half. Diego Trejo-Delgado had 19 points and nine rebounds, but had three first-half fouls. Pablo Navarro had a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Patrick Kilfoil had 10 points and seven rebounds. The Saints and Yellowjackets’ numbers were fairly even, but the free throws proved to be the difference. Montana State Billings went 19-24 at the foul line, where Saint Martin’s was 19-29. Saint Martin’s only turned the ball over eight times, but shot 33% from the floor.
The Saints suffered their first loss since before Thanksgiving and are now 17-3 on the season. Saint Martin’s stays in first place in the GNAC at 9-1 and will look to bounce back against Seattle Pacific on Saturday.
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