Game Summary

ST. PAUL, Minn. — Now this is a game that Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Mike Trewick will remember for a long, long time.

And that has little to do with the fact that Wednesday's 83-72 win over Hamline marked the first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory of his coaching career.

Lopsided losses to Augsburg, Macalester, Concordia, Bethel, Gustavus and St. John's left Trewick patiently waiting for that first conference victory.

And the Cardinals and Pipers decided to make him wait just a little while longer.

In a game in which SMU made four fewer field goals than the Pipers, Trewick had to sit through a second half that included 59 free-throw attempts and 102 points before the final horn sounded and he officially had MIAC win No. 1 tucked away.

The Cardinals, thanks to a 48 percent performance from the field (13-of 27) held a commanding 35-18 lead at the intermission. But then, the hack-fest began, as the teams were whistled for 37 second-half fouls. SMU went to the line 38 times in the game's final 20 minutes, knocking down 32 of those free-throws to preserve the win.

After making just 6 of 28 field goals in the opening half, the Pipers' shooting heated up in the second half, cutting SMU's lead to nine, 71-62, with 3:13 left, but the Cardinals were a perfect 12 of 12 from the line down the stretch.

Brenlsey Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) and Eric Lear (Antoich, Ill.) each scored 15 points to lead the way for SMU (1-6 MIAC, 2-10 overall), while Dan Kloak (Elmwood, Ill.) pitched in 13 points and Jeff Tendall (LeClaire, Iowa) and Michael Batterman (Fond du Lac, Wis.) each tallied 10.