Game Summary
WINONA, Minn. — For the first 10 minutes of Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game against Concordia, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team looked like a team that had just given up 103 points and had been eliminated from the conference playoff picture.
Over the game's final 30 minutes, however, the Cardinals looked more like a team that was determined not to end its season with a second straight loss.
Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the hole they dug themselves while sleepwalking through the game's opening 10 minutes was too deep to dig out of, as Concordia held SMU at bay down the stretch en route to a 70-61 victory at the SMU Gym.
"We just never could get over the hump," said SMU coach Mike Trewick, whose Cardinals — who had their playoff dreams shattered with Wednesday's disappointing 103-57 loss at Bethel — closed out its season 7-13 in the MIAC and 8-16 overall. "This game pretty much summed up our entire season — close, but not close enough. We battled back from that early first-half deficit, but we couldn't quite catch (Concordia.) — just like we put ourselves in position to earn a playoff spot, but couldn't seal the deal down the stretch."
After going nearly four minutes without their first basket, and falling behind by as many as 13 in the game's opening 10 minutes, the Cardinals began climbing back, closing the gap to five, 31-26, on a Nick Carr (Minneapolis, Minn.) 3-pointer with 3:27 remaining.
Just when the Cardinals thought they were out, the Cobbers pushed them back in their hole, scoring six of the final nine points of the half to take a 37-29 lead into the locker room.
And it was more of the same in the second half, as Concordia built its lead to 11 on three occasions in the first five minutes, only to have SMU cut the gap to three, 46-43 with 13:39 remaining in regulation.
The Cardinals continued to keep the Cobbers in their sights, pulling to within two, 54-52 on a Josh Knights' (Plainfield, Wis.) basket, but that was as close as SMU would get, as the Cobbers used a game-ending 16-9 run — which included six Cardinal missed field goals — to ice the win.
"It's always tough to have the season come to end like this, it kind of leaves a bad taste in your mouth," said Trewick, who got a team-high 16 points from Dan Cormier (Blaine, Minn.), while Carr chipped in a career-best 13. "But hopefully the guys will realize just how close we were this season and work hard in the off-season and come back next year ready to take that next step."
