Game Summary vs. UST / GameDay Online

ST. PAUL, Minn. — For the majority of the opening 20 minutes, Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Todd Landrum liked what he saw from his Cardinals against St. Thomas, the nation's top-ranked NCAA Division III team.

Then the Tommies kicked things into high gear, and left the Cardinals in the dust.

St. Thomas, fueled by five players in double figures, raced out to a47-26 halftime advantage and rolled to a 99-44 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

“The guys worked hard and played pretty well for most of the first half, then we lost our poise a bit — and against a team like St. Thomas, you can't afford to let them get on any kind of a roll, which is exactly what they did,” said Landrum, whose team couldn't stop UST from ending the first half on a 12-2 run, or starting the second on a 27-7 burst. “We played a lot of guys and they got some good playing experience — St. Thomas was just too tough for us.”

The Tommies have been virtually untouchable on their home floor, making SMU their 41 straight home victim, while not only extending their season-long winning streak to 20 in a row, but also pushing their unbeaten string against MIAC foes to 18 straight.

The Tommies started fast, and never slowed down, shooting 63 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes (21-for-33), while adding a 61 percent effort (16-for-26) in the second half. SMU, meanwhile, kept pace early, knocking down 8 of 15 field goal attempts and 9 of 10 free throws en route to their 26 first-half points.

Over the game's final 20 minutes, however, the Cardinals' shooting touch went into hibernation, as SMU made just 5 of 26 field goals (19 percent). Patrick Connolly (Chicago, Ill.) was the only Cardinal to score in double figures, finishing with a team-high 10 points. Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) finished with nine points, while Will Wright (Chicago, Ill), who entered the game ranked second in the MIAC in scoring at 20.4 ppg, was held to a season-low two points on 1 of 4 shooting.

B.J. Viau had 14 points, six assists and five rebounds in 17 minutes to lead the way for the Tommies.

The Cardinals are back in conference action Wednesday, playing host to Carleton in a 7:30 p.m. game at the SMU Gym.