DECORAH, Iowa — After earning high marks during their first two “exams” of the season, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team sharpened its pencils for yet another early season test Satruday evening.
This one: Playing On The Road 101.
And, thanks to some stellar bench play, the Cardinals passed with flying colors.
SMU, fueled by 31 points and 21 rebounds off the bench, picked up its second win of the season Saturday, rolling to a 79-67 nonconference win over Luther.
“It was a good win for us,” said SMU coach Todd Landrum. “No matter who you play, it's always tough to play on the road — it was (Luther's) first game and everyone there was pretty pumped up, but I thought our guys handled it well and played a good ball game.”
Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and
Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) each scored 21 points for the Cardinals to lead all scorers, while
Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.),
Thomas Sims (Eagan, Minn.),
Zach Miller (Chicago, Ill.) and
Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in a combined 31 points — nine from Sims, eight form Miller and Burfeind and six from Palmer — coming off the bench.
“Our bench play tonight was outstanding,” said Landrum, whose Cardinals shot 45 percent from the field — including 10-for-19 from behind the 3-point line. “Those guys gave us some valuable minutes and did a great job.”
Ninamdi Okolue scored 14 points and Nathan Giannettino added 10 in the losing effort for Luther (0-1 overall).
The Cardinals are back in action on Friday, traveling to Lake Forest for a 3 p.m. nonconference contest against the Foresters.
