By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

PORTLAND, Ore. – An emphasis on defense and senior leadership proved to be the difference for the Saint Martin’s men’s basketball team last week, which earned a pair of victories and climbed into a tie for first place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings.
 
The Saints (18-4, 7-2) were coming off a 77-75 loss at Western Washington (12-7, 4-5) and an 80-77 loss at Simon Fraser (6-13, 2-7) the previous week, but shored up their defensive effort to bounce back from the two narrow defeats. SMU handed Central Washington (13-6, 7-2) a 67-55 loss last Thursday and beat Northwest Nazarene (14-3, 7-2) 58-54 on Saturday, leading to GNAC Team of the Week honors on Monday. “All the teams in this league are really good, and we lean on our seniors when things get tough,” SMU head coach Aaron Landon said on his team’s response to the losses in the previous week. “Some of that means challenging them more. In each of those losses we had one really bad half, giving up more than 45 points, and then two really talented players hit buzzer beaters against us. Looking at those halves with our leadership was not an easy thing or fun to do, but we have to take accountability with where we are at defensively. I give (associate head coach) Tyler (Velasquez) the credit for really spending time to turn things around defensively for us and get us into a better space.”
 
The result of the adjustment was SMU holding last week’s opponents to two of the three lowest point totals allowed against Division II teams this season. The CWU victory was fueled by a first half that saw the Saints race out to a 44-27 advantage, a cushion that proved enough for a win despite a lower scoring, 23-point second stanza. “We have a ton of respect for them, and that’s all we focused on throughout the course of the week,” Landon said on facing the preseason-favorite Wildcats. “They have good guards and are really well coached, and that’s what we prepared for. I can’t emphasize enough how good they have looked and Monday through Wednesday last week defending was all we talked about. We haven’t had trouble scoring this year but felt like we were coming off an inconsistent defensive week up north.”
 
Saturday’s game against the Nighthawks played out differently, as the Saints found themselves down 33-26 at halftime and faced a deficit that peaked at 15 points. The Saints’ defensive persistence paid off down the stretch, as they held NNU without a field goal over the final six minutes of play, with the Nighthawks’ only points during that span coming on a pair of free throws. “Knowing how good NNU is defensively, going into that game the conversation was more about physicality,” Landon said. “We didn’t expect it to be a high scoring game. In a game like that, each possession is so valuable and it is about having discipline and matching their level of toughness. I’m really proud and thought our level of toughness was outstanding. To be down 15 against a really good team and come all the way back – I thought we showed a ton of resilience.”
 
Perhaps the most balanced lineup in the conference statistically, SMU has seven players who average upwards of 8.0 points per game. The heart and soul of the unit is fifth-year senior Jaden Nielsen-Skinner, who leads the GNAC and ranks 11th nationally with 5.9 assists per game. Steadily climbing the GNAC career charts as well, Nielsen-Skinner enters this week ranked fourth in conference history with 572 total assists and fifth in league history with 5.61 assists per game. “This last week, he let us really challenge him and then he answered the bell,” Landon said on Nielsen-Skinner’s leadership. “He made the game-tying three against NNU, but more than that he kept us focused and led the charge. His value can’t be explained, and it doesn’t show up statistically. His value is who he is as a person and how he wants to play the game. It is super unselfish and is entirely about winning.”
 

GNAC Career Assists Leaders (as of Jan. 22)
Rank	Player	Assists	School	Career
1	Luke Cooper	800	Alaska Anchorage	2004-08
2	Kevin Tyner	600	Western Oregon	2002-06
3	Mark White	594	Humboldt State	2000-04
4	David Downs	561	Seattle Pacific	2010-14
5	Jaden Nielsen-Skinner	559	Saint Martin's	2021-25
6	Ryan Webb	548	Seattle	2003-07
7	Jake Linton	496	Saint Martin's	2005-09
8	Michael Provenzano	482	Simon Fraser	2016-20
9	Tony Binetti	461	Seattle Pacific	2002-06
10	Riley Stockton	444	Seattle Pacific	2011-15

 
An early-season injury in 2023-24 stalled the start to Diego Trejo-Delgado’s career, but he has hit the ground running since kicking off a healthy 2024-25 campaign. He ranks second on the team with 12.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is coming off an 18-point effort in the win over the Nighthawks last time out. “It feels like right now, he has sort of become the motor of our team,” said Landon. “It’s really hard to be a freshman in our league and be on the floor, and it’s hard to be a freshman on a team like ours. We are asking him to do a lot. The most important trait in a young player is that he plays hard, and people are starting to see how high the talent level is. He has brought a ton of energy and a high level of intensity to the front court.”
 
Senior guard Marcel Stevens has grown into an everyday starter in his second season in the program, averaging 12.0 points and shooting 40.3% from 3-point range in 26.0 minutes per game. That is an improvement of 4.2 points per game from his debut season in 2023-24, as Stevens has been entrusted with an increase in valuable minutes this season. Stevens also ranks second on the squad with 1.67 steals per game. “Marcel has really stepped up and gotten so much better as the year has gone on,” said Landon. “We have had a ton of adversity this year, and our back court really took a hit with injuries early in the season. He has gotten a lot better over the course of the year at being a consistent defender for us, and he has become a better creator off the bounce. A quality of a great team is getting better as the game goes on, and Marcel has consistently done that.”
 
Myles Samuels has started 20 games this season and is just behind Nielsen-Skinner with 31.7 minutes per game. He has contributed 12.4 points, 2.45 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game, and is coming off rebound totals of 10 and eight, respectively in last week’s wins. “What stands out about Myles as a senior more than anything has been his character through highs and lows,” said Landon. “He is an all-academic guy on our Dean’s list, he’s good on the floor and is a great energy guy for us. He has grown so much since he got to Saint Martin’s, and this year he has infused his energy into our team. He is upbeat and is fun to be around, and it is really important for us to have a senior like that. This last week part of his leadership was when his shots weren’t dropping, he went out and got the job done on the glass.”
 
Newcomer Dyson Lighthall has made an immediate impact both in the paint as a 6-foot-8 forward and with his ability to shoot from the perimeter. Playing in 20 games and making 11 starts, Lighthall is averaging 9.9 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 57.7% overall and 36.0% from 3-point range. “Dyson has been great and has given us a ton of physicality up front,” Landon said on the transfer from Utah State Eastern. “We really like his game, we push him hard and he has gotten better and better. He has given us a guy who can score in a physical manner around the basket, has bought into our culture and program and has pushed himself to get into great shape. He has really been stretching the floor, and we are really confident that he can shoot from 3-point range.”
 
Now in his sixth season leading the Saints, Landon holds an overall record of 89-61 (.593) including a mark of 48-34 (.585) in conference games. Landon led the Saints to consecutive GNAC regular-season titles in 2021 and 2022, as this year’s squad has asserted itself in the upper-half of the conference standings halfway through the league schedule. As a team the Saints rank ninth in Division II in rebounds per game (41.8) and 15th in assists per game (18.2).
 
The Saints, who have won 10 of their last 12 games, will try to keep the momentum going with a tough road trip this week. SMU plays at reigning champion Montana State Billings (13-9, 4-5) on Thursday before traveling to face Seattle Pacific (9-11, 5-4) on Saturday with each opponent also coming off two conference wins last week. “Billings is one of the toughest places to go play in the GNAC,” Landon said. “It is always tough no matter who is on their team. We think the world of Luke (Fennelly) as a coach, and we know how tough it is to go win a ballgame there. Since they played us last SPU is 5-2, and their confidence has grown. Both of the games this week will be big tests.”
 
The week up north could really help us. We have demonstrated we can lose to anybody, and the GNAC is just that good. It hurt to lose those games, especially in the fashion we lost them, that can end up being something that really helps us grow.”