Game Summary vs. Carleton / GameDay Online / Photo Gallery

WINONA, Minn. — It was like a classic heavyweight title fight when the Saint Mary's University and Carleton men's basketball teams squared off at the SMU Gym Wednesday evening.

The two teams stood toe-to-toe in the center of the ring, with neither team about to back down.

When the Knights jabbed, the Cardinals jabbed back.

When the Knights threw a left hook, the Cardinals countered.

When the Cardinals unleashed a right-handed haymaker, the Knights answered with an uppercut.

Unfortunately for SMU, the Knights found a chink in the Cardinals' armor in the 15th round, and went to work, using a series of body blows in the form of a 25-7 run over the game's final 10 minutes to knock SMU out, 68-50.

"We stayed right with them for 30 minutes, unfortunately, it's a 40-minute game," said SMU coach Todd Landrum. "I'll tell you what, I will never question our guys' effort — I'm proud of the way they come ready to play and work hard every single day.

"This team wants to win so badly," Landrum added. "Give Carleton credit, they played a solid game, we just
came up short in a few areas down the stretch."

The two teams traded jabs — 32 for the Knights (who went 12-for-32 from the field) and 26 for the Cardinals (who were 9-for-26) — in the opening 20 minutes, with neither team leading by more than seven, and Carleton taking a one-point, 27-26, advantage into the locker room at the half.

And it was more of the same to start the second half, as the lead changed hands 13 times in the opening 10 minutes with a free throw by Carleton's Bryan Rosett knotting the game at 43-43 with 10:09 remaining in regulation.

From there, the Knights took control using a five-minute, 13-2 run to take a 56-45 advantage, then closed the game out by scoring 12 of the final 17 points to ice the win.

Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring 14 points, while missing his third double-double of the season by one rebound. Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) chipped in 13 points and Bradley Bruno (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 10 for SMU, which fell to 4-12 in the MIAC and 5-16 overall.

Zach Johnson scored a game-high 23 points to lead a trio of Carleton players in double figures. Kellen McLemore added 13 and Blaise Davis finished with 11 for the Knights (11-4 MIAC, 15-5 overall).

The Cardinals are now off until next Wednesday, when the travel to Hamline for a 7:30 p.m. conference contest.