Game Summary

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — After the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team beat Hamline 60-57 last Wednesday, coach Mark Lovelace wasn't quite ready to admit that the Cardinals had finally turned the corner.

After Saturday's game against St. Olaf, however, he may well be.

The Cardinals rallied from eight points down midway through the second half to beat the Oles 61-58 for their second straight win — the first time SMU has won two straight since back-to-back wins over Augsburg and Hamline on Jan. 5 and Jan. 7, 2001.

Trailing 56-48 with four minutes remaining, SMU went on a game-ending 15-3 run, pulling to within two, 56-54 on a pair of 3-point baskets from Jeff Tendall (LeClaire, Iowa) and Greg Brown (Martinez, Ga.), then tied it 56-56 on a basket by Terrence Smith (Broadview, Ill.).

The two teams traded baskets, before SMU took the lead for good, 59-58 on a free throw by Dan Kloak (Elmwood Park, Ill.) with 41 seconds remaining.

But the fun — and the nail-biting — was just beginning.

The Oles' Nate Lund missed a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left, but the Oles got the rebound and SMU quickly fouled. Pat Fraser took a page from Lund's book, missing both free throws — and this time, SMU's Smith pulled down the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws to ice the win.

Smith finished with a team-high 16 points for the Cardinals (3-9 MIAC, 4-13 overall), who have now won three MIAC games for the first time since the 2001-2002 season. Kloak also scored in double figures for SMU, netting 12 points.