WINONA, Minn. —
Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored a team-high 17 points to lead three players in double figures, but the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team could not shut down Saint John's one-two combination of Sam Blank and Aaron Burtzel in falling to the Johnnies 69-62 in a Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at the SMU Gym Saturday.
“I told the guys I was very proud of effort,” said SMU coach Todd Landrum. “But I also told them that, in games like this, you have to stay disciplined and follow the plan on defense, and throw that extra pass and make that hard cut on offense.”
The Johnnies got out of the gates fast, jumping out to a 16-8 first-half advantage, before the Cardinals' shooting hands heated up, using a 9-1 run to knot the game at 17-17 with 5:43 remaining. SJU, which got a game-high 22 points from Blank and 16 points and 13 rebounds from Burtzel, closed out the half on a 14-6 run to take a 31-23 advantage into the locker room at the break.
A slow start to open the second left SMU staring at a 17-point, 51-34 deficit with 10:48 left on the clock. The deficit didn't seem to faze the Cardinals, however, as
Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) drained a 3-pointer to cap a 21-9 run that pulled SMU within five, 60-55.
The Johnnies pushed that lead back to 10, 65-55, but again SMU responded, scoring five straight points get back within 65-60 with 33 seconds remaining in regulation. That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as SJU drained four straight free throws down the stretch to ice the win.
Along with Wright's 17 points, the Cardinals also got 13 points from
Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) and 12 points from Holland.
“We're close,” Landrum said. “We played I think the second-best team in league and we learned a lot. We have to be better every day. I told them before the game that we'll be better in two weeks than we are today, and we'll be better in February than we are today.”
The Cardinals, who fall to 2-2 in the MIAC and 4-5 overall, are back in action on Monday, playing host to Carleton in a 7:45 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.
