Game Summary

WINONA, Minn. — In a season that has seen the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team win just four games, first-year head coach Mike Trewick probably thought he'd see it all.

Than came Wednesday night.

The Cardinals shot 17 percent from the field in the first half, making just 4 of 23 field goal attempts, and scored just 17 points in the game's opening 20 minutes of Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Hamline.

To make matters worse, the Pipers shot a sizzling 68 percent from the field in the first half, jumping out to a commanding 45-17 halftime advantage — and Hamline never looked back, dropping SMU 79-61 at the SMU Gym.

"What can I say? Obviously, we did not play very well in the first half," said Trewick, whose team dropped its fifth straight in falling to 3-14 in the MIAC and 4-18 overall. "It was just one of those things — like a stone rolling down a hill, once it gets going, it just keeps picking up speed. Hamline got on a roll, and we just couldn't stop them."

SMU did turn things around a bit in the second half, outscoring the Pipers 44-34, but that first-half deficit was just too great.

"I give our guys a lot of credit, they battled right to the very end," said Trewick, who got a team-high 13 points from Jeff Tendall (LeClaire, Iowa). "We cut the lead to 15 with 10 minutes to go, but then we struggled to get the ball across halfcourt, and before you know it, the lead's 20 again.

"I was pleased with the way we executed in the second half – and that's what we have to focus on," continued Trewick. "If we can execute with that type of consistency for 40 minutes, we're going to win our share of ball games.

"The problem is, right now we aren't at that level for the entire 40 minutes."