By: Evan O'Kelly, Associate Commissioner for Communications

BELLINGHAM, Wash. – For the first time in program history Saint Martin’s captured the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championships trophy, dispatching second-seeded Alaska Anchorage 74-62 in the title contest on Saturday night at Sam Carver Gym.
 
The top-seeded Saints turned in their second straight dominant performance at the tournament, controlling the pace of play from start to finish. Freshman Patrick Kilfoil was selected as the GNAC Championships Most Valuable Player after scoring a game-high 23 points on 8-for-11 shooting including 6-for-8 accuracy from 3-point range. He became the first underclassman in the 15-year history of the tournament to be named MVP.
 
2026 GNAC Men’s Basketball Championships All-Tournament Team
Patrick Kilfoil – Saint Martin’s (Most Valuable Player)
Diego Trejo-Delgado – Saint Martin’s
Pablo Navarro – Saint Martin’s
Sylas Williams – Alaska Anchorage
Akok Machar – Alaska Anchorage
Tyriq Luke - Alaska

Kilfoil’s first three of the night was SMU’s first bucket of the game as he set the tone offensively, however it was the Seawolves who worked their way to a 14-9 advantage through the first six minutes of action. SMU went on a game-changing 13-0 run at that point however, with three consecutive treys from Dae’Kwon Watson, Kilfoil and GNAC Player of the Year Kaden Hansen sparking the scoring burst. That made the score 22-14 in favor of the regular-season champions, and SMU never looked back the rest of the game. Finishing the half strong, SMU led by as much as 11 points and took a 34-25 margin into the locker room.
 
The Seawolves were unable to generate a comeback, with SMU’s lead never dipping below double figures and peaking at 29 points with 6:34 to go in the title contest. SMU improved to 25-5 on the season with the win and completed the season sweep of UAA after it won both regular-season contests between the teams. UAA moved to 21-10 with the defeat. It marked the third time the teams met at the conference tournament and first time in the title game, with UAA winning each of the previous GNAC Championships encounters.
 
Pablo Navarro had a dozen points and seven rebounds while Diego Trejo-Delgado finished with a game-high eight rebounds to go along with nine points. Hansen chipped in a dozen points on 5-for-10 shooting in the title contest, while Watson finished with nine points, five boards and two assists in 25 minutes off the bench. The Saints dominated the rebounding margin 41-28, and had a great shooting night at 48.2% (27-for-56) overall, 48.1% (13-for-27) from long range and 77.8% (7-for-9) from the foul line.
 
All-tournament selection Akok Machar led the Seawolves with 14 points and six rebounds, as he made 4 of 8 shots. He was the lone UAA player to score in double figures in the championship game however, as the Seawolves shot just 36.8% (21-for-57) overall, 22.7% (5-for-22) from distance and 71.4% (15-for-21) from the foul line. UAA protected the ball well, committing just seven turnovers.
 
GAME NOTES: SMU made its eighth GNAC Championships appearance and improved to 6-7 all-time at the event…SMU had title-game losses in 2018 and 2023…UAA played in the tournament for the 12th time, and is now 9-12 historically…UAA moved to 0-5 in GNAC Championships title game appearances.
 
NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS: Saint Martin’s was second in the latest NCAA regional rankings while Alaska Anchorage was fifth. The top-eight teams in the final rankings, which are announced on Sunday, will earn spots in next week’s NCAA West Region Championships hosted by the No. 1 overall seed.