COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Mike Trewick had more than his fair share of reasons to smile following Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Saint John's.

First, there was the first collegiate double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds by Alex Washington (Hillside, Ill.).

Then there was the 19-point effort from Brensley Haywood (Joliet, Ill.).

And who wouldn't be happy with a season-high 52-point second-half effort?
Unfortunately, all those positives couldn't outweigh the one negative — SJU's explosive offense and it's 91-point outburst.

The Johnnies got double-figure scoring from all five of their starters — including a game-high 20-point performance from Craig Schafer — en route to a 91-77 victory over the Cardinals.

"We did not play very well in the first half, but that second half may have been the best half we've played in my two years here," said Trewick, whose team shot just 37 percent from the field in falling behind 39-25 at the half, before knocking down 19 of 38 shots in the game's final 20 minutes. "I honestly believe that if we play the way we did in the second half from here on out, we're going to be right in the thick of the playoff race."

After trailing by as many as 19 in the second half, the Cardinals cut the gap to eight, 63-55, only to have SJU's Brady Brink bury a 3-pointer that pushed the Johnnies' lead back to double figures. SJU would allow SMU to crawl to within nine, 78-69, on a pair of free throws by Washington, but that was as close as the Cardinals would get, as Saint John's closed out the game on a 13-8 run to seal its third straight MIAC win.

"I feel pretty good about the way we played — especially in the second half," said Trewick, whose team is still searching for its first win, falling to 0-2 in the MIAC and 0-4 overall. "We are making steady progress, and I think the second half today is evidence of that.

"There were certainly a number of bright spots, which was great to see," Trewick added. "But we struggled in the first half, and that cost us. We just dug too deep a hole to dig out of.

"We've got to find a way to play like we did in the second half in both halves. In this conference, 20 minutes of good play isn't enough."