Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — Bob Biebel is never one to make excuses or complain, but the Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach will be the first to admit that the ball certainly hasn't bounced the Cardinals' way this season.

And when your team is mired in the midst of what seems like a season-long slump, it must seem that every bad bounce is magnified that much more.

Like Terrence Smith's (Broadview, Ill.) last second-jumper against St. Thomas Saturday afternoon.

Instead of rattling off the rim and finding its way in — giving the Cardinals a 58-56 win over the Tommies — it bounced off, leaving the two teams tied and headed to overtime.

And in the five-minute OT period, the Tommies made the most of their second life, outscoring SMU 9-6 en route to the 65-62 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win.

"We had our chances," admitted Biebel, whose team made just 1 of 7 field goal attempts in the overtime period. "We were so close to winning it in regulation — (Smith's) shot was so close, it could have just as easily gone in as it did fall out.

"I guess the basketball gods just weren't smiling on us today."

Today?

How about all season.

The loss to the Tommies was the 10th straight for the Cardinals, who have not won since a 72-67 win over St. John's on Jan. 4.

"It's been a tough stretch," Biebel said. "It's not that we are playing all the poorly. We are doing a lot of good things, we just aren't doing them all at the same time.

"One game, we'll shoot well from the field, but we'll struggle from the (free-throw) line. Another, we won't shoot the ball well (from the field) — we're just not being consistent," Biebel continued. "(The St. Thomas game) is as close as we've come to playing a complete game in a long time."

The Cardinals came out strong against the Tommies, taking a two-point, 36-34, lead into the lockerroom at the half. With just over five minutes remaining in the second half, SMU held a five-point, 55-50, edge, but the Tommies battled back, scoring six of the final seven points to force the overtime period.

"The guys played hard from beginning to end," said Biebel, whose team has now lost 30 in a row against the Tommies. "We hit some big shots when we needed them, and we played the game the way we are capable of playing.

"It's just that, when we needed it most, the ball wouldn't bounce our way."

So what's new?