Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — The first time Gustavus and the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team squared off, the Gusties needed less than 20 minutes to score 55 points en route to a 92-57 blowout victory.

What a difference a month makes.

After tearing the Cardinals apart for 55 points in that Jan. 11 meeting in St. Peter, Minn., the Gusties managed just 32 first-half points in Wednesday's rematch at the SMU gym.

In fact, the Gusties didn't score their 55th point until the middle of the second half.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, that 55th point gave GAC a 17-point advantage. And while SMU battled back to cut the gap to four with just over two minutes remaining, the Cardinals could never quite recover in dropping their home season-finale 73-64.

Holding a four-point, 32-28 lead at the half, Gustavus opened the second half with a 23-10 run to transform a four-point nailbiter into a 17-point laugher.

But the Cardinals didn't think it was funny — and they did something about it, using a 22-8 run of their own to make it a four-point game, 64-60, with 2:23 remaining in regulation.

From there, however, it was all Gustavus, as the Gusties knocked down a field goal and connected on 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch to put the game out of reach.

Ryan Wilt (Naperville, Ill.) and Nick Michaels (Dyer, Ind.), playing in front of the home crowd for the final time in their careers, finished with 14 and 12 points, respectively, to lead the Cardinals (2-17 MIAC, 2-22 overall). Jim Wangler (Wheaton, Ill.) also scored in double figures, finishing with 10 points.

Dave Newell scored a game-high 17 points for Gustavus (12-5 MIAC, 16-6 overall).