ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — With seven games remaining in the regular season, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team found itself in a rather unfamiliar position — right in the thick of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff hunt.
To stay in the thick of that race, however, the Cardinals can't afford to let wins slip through their fingers like they did Wednesday against Bethel.
Literally.
Despite shooting 51 percent from the field, compared to Bethel's 40 percent, and holding a 37-32 rebounding advantage, the Cardinals came out on the short end of an 82-79 MIAC decision — thanks in large part to a season-high 24 turnovers.
"You have to take care of the basketball, it's that simple," said SMU coach Mike Trewick, whose team dropped to 7-7 in the MIAC and into a three-way tie for fifth in the conference standings. "We did so many good things — we shot the ball well, we did a great job on the board, but when you turn the ball over 24 times, you aren't going to win many games."
Bethel led by as many as 13 in the game's opening 20 minutes, but a 19-11 SMU run over the final eight minutes cut the Royals' lead to five, 38-33 at the break.
The Royals took control again early in the second half, rebuilding their advantage to 15, 57-42, with 12:13 remaining. But the Cardinals again bounced back, using a 24-6 run to take a one-point 64-63 lead with 6:16 remaining.
That, however, would be the one and only time SMU would lead as Bethel scored 18 of the game's final 34 points to seal the win.
Brensley Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) netted a season-high 26 points in the losing effort for SMU (7-7 MIAC, 9-10 overall). Terrence Smith (Broadview, Ill.) added 17 points and Michael Rohr (Bloomingdale, Ill.) chipped in 13 points in the losing effort.
"We've got to find a way to win on the road," said Trewick, whose team fell to 1-8 away from home this season. "We just didn't have the same kind of energy that we had (last Sunday against Concordia). If we are going to stay in the (playoff) race, we've got to be able to pick up a win or two on the road."
