ARDEN HILLS, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team entered Wednesday's game against Bethel needing a win against the Royals and a victory on Saturday in the home finale against Concordia — not to mention a St. Olaf loss at Gustavus — in order to lock up the sixth and final MIAC playoff spot, the Cardinals' first post-season appearance since the 1984-85 season.
The Cardinals, however, couldn't hold up their end of the bargain, as a 103-57 loss to Bethel officially ended SMU's bid for its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference playoff appearance since the 1984-85 season.
If it's any consolation, an SMU win over the Royals would not have been enough, anyway, as St. Olaf rallied to beat Gustavus 58-52.
"the most disappointing part was the fact that we didn't come out with any energy — this was our biggest game of the year and we just didn't bring it tonight," said SMU assistant coach Nigel Jenkins, filling in for head coach Mike Trewick, who is battling a case of pneumonia. "Obviously, in the long run, it didn't really matter, since St. Olaf won, but still, the fact that we didn't play up to our ability, that's disappointing."
The Royals' opened the scoring with a 3-pointer from Cory Laugen and never looked back — leading by 10, 12-2, in the game's first four minutes and 17, 25-8 before the half was even half over — before turning up the heat with a half-ending 9-0 run that gave Bethel a 54-25 halftime advantage.
The Cardinals made 9 of 30 field goal attempts in the opening 20 minutes, and connected on 10 of 25 attempts from the field in the second half. Problem was, after scoring 54 points in the first half, the Royals were just getting warmed up, as Bethel added 49 second-half points en route to their fifth 100-plus point performance of the season.
Dan Cormier (Blaine, Minn.) led the way for SMU, scoring a game-high 18 points, while
Brensley Haywood (Joliet, Ill.) chipped in 12 as the duo combined for 30 of the Cardinals' 57 total points. Wade Blazejak, led six Royal players in double figures, netting a team-best 15 points.
The Cardinals, who gave up 100 points for the first time since a 100-84 loss to Puget Sound on Nov. 17, 2001, close out their season on Saturday, playing host to Concordia.
And Jenkins is expecting a different SMU team to take to the floor than the one he saw Wednesday.
"I challenged them to close out the season on a high note," said Jenkins. "It's out last game — at home — and there's no reason would can't go out there and play the way we are capable of playing.
"Sure, the guys would much rather be playing for a playoff spot, but that's not in the cards anymore," Jenkins added. "All we can do now is play for pride — and I think that's a challenge these guys will live up to."
