WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team, coming off a 73-62 season-opening victory at home against the University of Dubuque, is back in action Wednesday, playing host to UW-La Crosse in a 7:30 p.m. nonconference contest at the SMU Gym.
The Records:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall)
UW-La Crosse (1-0 Overall)
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Last Action: The Cardinals got their season off to a flying start on Sunday, getting a game-high 25 points from
Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) in knocking off the University of Dubuque
73-62 at the SMU Gym. UW-La Crosse, meanwhile, also started 2009-2010 with a win, blowing past Wisconsin Lutheran
92-68 Monday in La Crosse, Wis.
Last Meeting: November 29, 2008:
Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored a game-high 23 points and SMU raced out to a 31-28 halftime advantage, but the Eagles drained 15 of 31 second-half field goals in rallying to beat SMU 72-61 in La Crosse, Wis.
Saint Mary's Cardinal Notes: Sunday's season-opening contest against the University of Dubuque was the first home season-opener for the Cardinals since 2002-2003, when SMU kicked off its season against tonight's opponent, UW-La Crosse. … SMU's matchup vs. the University of Dubuque marked the first time the two teams have ever met. …
Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) scored a game-high 25 points vs. the Spartans Sunday. It was the junior guard's highest offensive output since netting a career-best 30 points on Feb. 23, 2008. The effort was also the third-highest of his collegiate career. Along with his 30-point showing vs. Augsburg on Feb. 23, 2008, Holland also had a 26-point performance during the 2007-08 season. … Holland missed just two field goals vs. the Spartans, going 7-for-9 from the field — and added a perfect 9-for-9 showing from the free throw line. … Holland extended his consecutive games played streak to 50 Sunday. …
Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.), who, along with Holland, was named to the All-MIAC First Team a year ago, scored 12 points vs. the University of Dubuque. It was the 24th time in SMU's last 26 games that the junior has scored 10 or more points. Wright has now scored in double figures in 46 of his 50 collegiate games. … Freshman
Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) scored 11 points — and missed his first double-double by one rebound — in his collegiate debut Sunday. … As a team, the Cardinals ranked No. 1 in the MIAC in free throws made (322), free throws attempted (443) a year ago. SMU was 20-for-27 from the charity stripe vs. the Spartans.
UW-La Crosse Eagle Notes: Tony Mane led the way for the Eagles against Wisconsin Lutheran, tossing in a game-high 27 points, finishing 11-for-18 from the field, including four 3-pointers. … Mane was one of four Eagles in double figures vs. the Knights. Trevor Stratton (20), Jordan Rumpel (12) and Austin Scott (11) were the other three. … Rumpel's 12 points — as well as his nine rebounds and five assists — were career highs. … UW-L, which finished 10-15 overall and 4-12 in the WIAC last season, was picked to finish fifth in the WIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll. … The Eagles actually opened their 2009-10 season with an 82-77 exhibition victory at NCAA Division II Winona State University on Nov. 2. … UW-L returns all five starters and 90 percent of its scoring and rebounding from last year's squad, which set a single-season school record with 99 blocked shots and posted a free throw percentage of 76.2, the second-highest in school history. … The Eagles dropped seven games by six points or less in 2008-09. … UW-L will play six of its first nine games on the road, as well as four of its final six. … Mane was UW-L's leading scorer last season, averaging 17.2 ppg. Mane was also an All-WIAC First-Team selection. … Stratton returns after an all-conference honorable-mention season a year ago, in which he averaged 16.0 ppgs and 4.2 rpg. … Mane and Stratton both played in all 25 games last season with 21 starts. … Andy Merklein started all 25 contests last season. He was third on the team in scoring (9.6 ppg), while leading the squad in rebounding (5.3 rpg).
