Smith sinks eight threes, leads Pack to 90-77 win

PUEBLO, Colo. - Rome Smith probably could have shot with his eyes closed Friday night and still have found the bottom of the net as the Pack's junior sank eight three-pointers, leading the ThunderWolves to a 90-77 victory over St. Martin's (Wash.).

Smith went an amazing 8-for-9 from the three-point line Friday, and 10-for-12 overall, cruising to a game high 28 points and setting the tone for a stellar shooting night by the ThunderWolves.

The Pack shot .536 from the field in the win, a follow-up to their .588 effort against St. Cloud State at the University of Nebraska-Omaha Tournament last weekend. Prior to those two games, the Pack hadn't even eclipsed 40 percent shooting in a game this season. The Pack hadn't shot better than .500 from the field in consecutive games since 2005, when they shot .684 and .537 in conference matchups with Metro State and Colorado Mines.

Early on, it was the Saints' stellar shooting that was the different. St. Martin's jumped out to an 11-3 lead, hitting their first five field goals.

But the ThunderWolves responded with a 10-0 run, banking on threes from Smith and Julien Franklin, to take the lead.

The Pack took the lead for good when Smith buried a three minutes later to give the ThunderWolves a 23-22 lead.

The win moves the Pack to 2-3 this season, running head-on into sixth-ranked South Dakota tomorrow night, who dominated Regis 78-52 in the day's early game.