LACEY - Sophomore Blake Poole muscled his way to 21 points and 19 rebounds as the host Saint Martin's Saints swept away Pacific Lutheran, 79-58, in a non-conference men's basketball game played Monday night at Marcus Pavilion.

Poole used his massive 6-5, 265-pound frame to dominate the Lutes in the low post, hitting 9-for-11 from the field and adding 3-for-4 from the foul line for his game-high 21 points. Of his 19 rebounds, 17 came on the defensive end for the Saints, now 8-1 this season.

Jeremy Green added 17 points on 8-for-13 shooting and Brady Bomber chipped in with 11 as the hosts shot 53 percent (31-for-59) from the field.

Sophomore point guard James Conti had another strong game for the Lutes with 16 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the field and 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. He also added six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Junior wing Kyle MacTaggart was the only other PLU player in double figures, tallying 13 points. He tied Conti for team-high rebounding honors with five.

Pacific Lutheran, 2-5 this season, battled the Saints on even terms through the first 11 minutes and took a 17-16 at the 8:33 mark of the opening half on Tarjei Bryn's jumper. The Saints regained the lead moments later and held it for the remainder of the contest. They finished the first half with a 7-0 run - all on free throws in the final 1:06 of the period - to take a 42-30 advantage at the half. They pulled away from the Lutes in the second half.

Pacific Lutheran returns to action next Tuesday, Dec. 29, when they travel to Burnaby, B.C., to face the Simon Fraser Univerity Clan.

- PLU -