Men’s Basketball: Saints sail past Clippers

December 30, 2007

Lacey, WA - Saint Martin’s scored 11 of the first 16 points in the game and never looked back as they rolled to an 85-50 victory over Concordia College of New York Sunday afternoon at the SMU Pavilion.

“The first half we played really well both offensively and defensively. I’m pleased with our improvement from the start of the season; we have improved as much as any team in the conference and that’s what we needed to do,” said head coach Keith Cooper. “There is no question depth is a good asset for us and tonight was a perfect example of that. We had 10 players with 14-26 minutes. That kind of depth will really help us down the stretch in league.”

Michael McIver and Mike Ognoskie combined for all of the Saints’ points in the final four minutes of the first half, with eight each; as part of a 28-6 run by Saint Martin’s that put them up 55-24 going into the break. SMU shot 58.3 percent in the half and held Concordia to just 25 percent.

The Saints continued to add to their lead in the second half never letting the Clippers pull within less than 23 to pick up the win in their final non-conference game of the season.

“Everybody is finding a way to contribute, which is huge,” said Charlie Severs. “We just have to keep improving and getting better like we know we can.”

Jake Linton and Bill Richardson each had 12 points for the Saints. Brendan Campbell, McIver and Ognoskie added 11 points apiece. Campbell also posted a game high nine rebounds.

With his 12 points Linton became the 33rd member of the GNAC 1000-Point Club and the 4th from Saint Martin’s.

“It’s a good accomplishment but there are a lot of other things I want us to do as a team,” said Linton. “We’re going to continue to work hard and play at the level we know we can.”

“This was a good win for us,” said McIver. “It gives us some momentum going forward and hopefully we can ride this victory into the next game.”

The Saints finish their non-conference schedule with a 5-4 record. They begin conference play this Thursday, January 3rd at home against the University of Alaska Fairbanks at 7:30 p.m. in the second game of a doubleheader.