NORTHFIELD, Minn. — They entreed Wednesday's game as mirror images of each other.

The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team entered Wednesday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game in the midst of a two-game losing streak and losers of three of their last four.

Carleton, meanwhile, was stuck in a three-game slide and had won just twice in its last six games.

Something had to give.

Unfortunately, it was the Cardinals.

Carleton held SMU to a just 49 points — the Cardinals' second-lowest offensive output of the season — en route to a 77-49 conference win.

"It was the same story as the Gustavus game," said SMU coach Mike Trewick, referring to last Saturday's 77-70 loss to the Gusties. "We just did not come out and play with any energy. I don't know what it was, we just didn't have any get-up and go.

"We seemed to find a bit of that energy in the second half, but by that time, we were down by 18 points and it was too late."

While the Cardinals struggled from the field, shooting just 35 percent from the field (18-for-51), the Knights were red-hot, knocking down 17 of 30 first-half field goals in building a commanding 42-24 halftime advantage, then going 10-for-24 in the second half in completing the rout.

The Knights silenced SMU's duo of Dan Cormier (Blaine, Minn.) and Brensley Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) — who have led the team in scoring in each of their last seven games — holding Haywood to just seven points, while Cormier managed just five, three coming on his lone 3-point attempt of the night.

Carleton, meanwhile, boasted four players in double figures, led by Tommy Drake's game-high 22 points. Drake also pulled down 11 rebounds, whlie Zach Johnson chipped in 19 points, including 11 from the free-throw line.

"We need to find a way to play better, especially on the road," said Trewick, whose team is just 1-5 on the road this season and has won just two road games in the past two seasons. "Fortunately, we get four of our next five games at home — and that's big for us, we always seem to play well in front of our home fans."