Game Summary
WINONA, Minn. — In their first meeting, Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Mike Trewick couldn't stand to watch as Carleton rattled off 23 unanswered points en route to a 35-19 halftime lead and a 64-43 victory on Jan. 17.
Wednesday evening in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rematch, Trewick rather enjoyed the first half.
In fact, he enjoyed the first eight minutes of the second half, too.
It was the final 12 minutes that he and the Cardinals could do without.
Carleton shot 54 percent from the field in the second half — and used a 16-2 run late in the half to break opening a five-point game and carry the Knights to a 75-54 victory.
"I thought we played a very good first half, and we played well to start the second half," said Trewick, whose team dropped its seventh straight in falling to 3-16 in the MIAC and 4-20 overall. "(Carleton) knocked down a couple of big threes, and we didn't have an answer. We kept scratching and clawing, but we just couldn't make up any ground.
"Give Carleton credit they are a very good team," continued Trewick, noting that all five Carleton starters scored in double figures — led by Dan Forkrud's double-double of 23 points and 13 rebounds — while SMU had just one player, Jeff Tendall (LeClaire, Iowa), score in double figures (14). "They played very well, especially in the second half. They are a conference-tournament team, and they proved why tonight."
SMU gave the Knights (14-5 MIAC, 14-8 overall) all they could handle in the first half, shooting 37 percent from the field and trailing by just three, 31-28, at the intermission. Both teams got out of the gates fast in the second half, as Carleton held a 55-50 edge with 7:30 left to play. That, however, was as close as SMU would get as the Knights rattled off 16 of the next 18 points to put the game out of reach.
"There were a lot of positives out there," said Trewick, whose team closes out its season at St. Olaf on Saturday. "The guys are continuing to improve, and that's good to see."
