Game Summary

LISLE, Ill. — They are getting closer, but not close enough.

The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team scored a season-high 79 point Friday evening, but it wasn't quite enough as Benedictine responded with 89 en route to an 89-79 win over SMU — handing the Cardinals their seventh straight loss to open the season.

The Cardinals shot a blistering 48 percent from the field — again a season-best — hitting 27 of their 56 field goal attempts, but even that wasn't enough, as Benedictine equaled that effort (24 of 50, 48 percent), but also made 36 of 47 free throws to ice the win.

SMU opened the game with a 7-0 run on a basket by Dan Kloak (Elmwood Park, Ill.) and a pair of baskets by Eric Lear (Antioch, Ill.), but Benedictine battled back, scoring 11 of the next 14 points to take an 11-10 lead. Benedictine pushed its lead to 11 on four separate occasions, before settling for an eight-point, 41-33 halftime advantage.

Benedictine maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half, with the Cardinals unable to get any closer than six points in falling to 0-7 overall.

Lear finished with a team-leading 22 points, while Kloak chipped in 16 and Brenlsey Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) added 10. Marcus Jackson netted a game-high 32 points in the winning effort for Benedictine (6-2 overall), with Zach Ramey adding 20.