By DONNY NADEAU
Saint Mary's Sports Information Director
 
WINONA, Minn. — It was a memorable season for Saint Mary's University of Minnesota's Eli Cave (St. Paul, Minn.).
 
The sophomore — who missed all of last season with an injury — came back with a flourish in 2018-19, ranking second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference in scoring.
 
And Cave's efforts did not go unnoticed, as he was named to the five-play All-MIAC Second Team when the league announced its post-season men's basketball awards Tuesday afternoon.
 
Cave wasn't the only Cardinal raising a few eyebrows this season, either. Caden Freetly (Farmington, Minn.) also collected some post-season hardware Tuesday, being named to the five-man MIAC All-First Year Team.
 
Cave was joined by on the All-MIAC Second Team by Kent Hanson of Carleton, Jackson Henningfield of Macalester, Saint John's Lucas Walford, and Bethel's Derek Magnuson. Booker Coplin of Augsburg, Granger Kingland of Bethel, Saint John's David Stokman, St. Thomas' Anders Nelson and Connor Baier, and Austin Korba were named to the All-MIAC First Team, with Saint John's Jubie Alade and Zach Hanson, Augsburg's Matt Carik, Jack Jenson of Bethel and Wyatt Ferm of Macalester rounded out the All-MIAC Third Team.
 
Coplin was named the Joe Hutton Player of the Year, while Burt Hedstrom of St. Thomas took home Sixth Man of the Year honors, and St. Thomas' Johnny Tauer — who led St. Thomas to the MIAC regular season title and an NCAA Tournament berth — was named MIAC Coach of the Year.
 
Cave showed no signs of rust after missing last season, scoring 10 or more points in 19 of 20 conference games, while leading the team in scoring with a 19.2 ppg average — ranking No. 2 among all MIAC players behind Coplin. The sophomore forward also led the team in rebounds with 137 (6.9 rpg) and assists with 71. Cave shot 49.2 percent from the field in conference play (150-for-305), drained 28 3-pointers and hit 55 of 81 free throws (55-for-81), while also recording 14 steals and eight blocked shots.
 
As good as Cave was in conference play, he was even better when adding in Saint Mary's nonconference schedule. Cave averaged a team-best 19.6 ppg, hauled in a team-leading 177 rebounds (7.1 rpg), owned a team-leading 93 assists, and chipped in 18 steals and 12 blocked shot. In his last three conference outings of the season, Cave scored 29, 36, and 23 points — including 53 of those 88 points in the game's opening 20 minutes.
 
Cave closed out the year leading or sharing the team lead in scoring 17 times, and scored 10 or more points in 24 of the Cardinals' 25 contests — including 10 games of 20 or more points. Cave scored 30 or more points twice — netting a then-career-high 35 points against Martin Luther on Nov. 17, before pouring in 36 against Macalester on Feb. 9. The sophomore posted his first six collegiate double-doubles, including a 36-point, 12-rebound effort against Macalester and a 23-point, 10-rebound effort against No. 6 St. Thomas in the Cardinals' final two games of the year.
 
Freetly, meanwhile, made the most of his first season in a Cardinal uniform, appearing in all 20 conference games — posting an 8.5 ppg scoring average and hauling in 107 rebounds (5.4 rpg). He shot 33.9 percent from the field (60-for-177) with 30 3-pointers, and was 20 of 29 from the free throw line. Freetly recorded 33 assists, 16 steals and a team-high 19 blocked shots.
 
Freetly played in all 25 games this season — including making 15 starts. He averaged 9.4 ppg and was one of three Saint Mary's players to eclipse the 100-rebound plateau, finishing with 107 (5.4 rpg). He finished 85-for-226 from the field, was second on the team in 3-pointers with 43, and went 21-for-31 from the charity stripe. Freetly owned 46 assists, 21 steals and a team-leading 21 blocked shots.
 
Freetly scored 10 or more points 12 times this season — including a season-high 21-point effort against Hamline on Feb. 4. The freshman guard also put together the first two double-doubles of his collegiate career — scoring 12 points and adding 11 rebounds against Gustavus on Jan. 26, while posting a 21-point, 12-rebound effort against Hamline on Feb. 4.
 
The MIAC also announced the 12th annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men's basketball, which included the Cardinals' Bradley Hill (Matteson, Ill.)