Game Summary

ST. PAUL, Minn. — In the box score, it will go down as Nick Michael's (Dyer, Ind.) fifth field goal — a jumper with 1:12 left that cut the Macalester lead from 15 to 13 points.

In the record books, however, it will go down as the shot that put the SMU senior among the elite in Saint Mary's University men's basketball history.

Michaels' jumper with just over a minute remaining may not have meant much in the grand scheme of Saturday's 75-62 loss to Macalester, but it did give the senior forward 1,001 career points.

"It's a great honor for Nick, he's worked hard for this program, and to see him get his 1,000th point, that's really special," said SMU coach Bob Biebel.

Unfortunately, Michaels' milestone came in the midst of another milestone — one that Biebel and the rest of the Cardinals want no part of.

Saturday's loss was the Cardinals' 13th straight setback, the longest such slide since the middle of the 1989-1990 season.

"It's tough," admitted Biebel. "The frustrating part is, we're not playing that poorly. We just can't seem to hit the big shots when we need them. We've been so inconsistent all season — we play a good half here, a good half there, but we haven't been able to put two good halves together."

And Saturday's loss was a perfect example of just that.

SMU shot 56.7 percent from the field in the second half against Macalester, outscoring the Scots 49-44. Problem is, the Cardinals made just 4 of 28 field goals in the first half, scoring just 13 points as they came out for the second half staring at a 31-13 deficit.

"We were flat," Biebel said of the first half. "We did not come out ready to play, and it showed. You have to be mentally ready from the opening tip, and we weren't."

Jim Wangler (Wheaton, Ill.) scored a game-high 20 points in the losing effort for SMU (2-14 MIAC, 2-19 overall), while Michaels chipped in 13 points and Lance Larson (Lakeville, Minn.) finished with 10.

"We've got to regroup and get ready to go right back at it," said Biebel, whose weary Cardinals will be playing their fourth game in five days when they host Concordia on Sunday. "It's been a tough stretch — we need to find it inside to be able to put it all together (Sunday)."