WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team, coming off a season-opening nonconference victory over Crown on Monday, kicks off its home schedule Saturday night, playing host to Luther in a nonconference game at 7 p.m. at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-0 Overall)
Luther Norse (0-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals scored the game's first six points and never look back on Monday, handing Crown a 78-57 nonconference setback in the teams' season opener in St. Bonifacius, Minn. Luther, meanwhile, opened its season on Thursday, falling to St. Olaf 65-56 in a nonconference game in Northfield, Minn.

Last Meeting — November 21, 2009:
SMU, fueled by 31 points and 21 rebounds off the bench, picked up its second win of the season, rolling to a 79-67 nonconference win over Luther in Decorah, Iowa.

Up Next:
After the Thanksgiving break, the Cardinals open Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a home game against Augsburg on Wednesday, Dec. 1. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. at the SMU Gym. Luther, meanwhile, heads to Honolulu, Hawaii for games against California Lutheran and Whitworth as part of the Surf's Up Invitational Nov. 26-27.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With Monday's win over Crown, the Cardinals have now won their season opener in each of the last two years. … SMU boasted four players in double figures against the Storm Monday. Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored a game-high 19 points, while Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.), Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) and Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.) added 18, 16 and 10 points, respectively. … Palmer also pulled down 10 boards to record his first double-double of the season and ninth of his collegiate career. … Palmer has now notched double-doubles in five of his last six games. … With his 19 points, Wright pushed his career mark to 1,373, 171 points behind Ken Jansen for seventh all-time in career scoring. … Holland, meanwhile, boasts 1,096 career points and is 23 points back of Marty Lillig for No. 21 all-time. … Wright, who netted 10 or more points in all 25 games a year ago, has now scored in double figures 67 times in his 71 collegiate games. … The Cardinals got scoring from nine different players against the Storm Monday. … SMU shot 42.9 percent from the field vs. the Storm, while holding a commanding 47-31 rebounding advantage | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Luther Norse News and Notes:
Luther returns 14 letterwinners and all five starters from last year's 12-12 team that finished seventh in the IIAC with a 6-10 league mark. … Dane Larson, an honorable-mention All-IIAC selection last season, scored a team-high 18 points in the Norse's season-opening loss to St. Olaf Thursday. Jacy Dillahunty, meanwhile, chipped in 17 points. … Larson started 22 games for the Norse a year ago, averaging a team-high 12.1 ppg and 2.1 apg. … Tim Merritt was second on the team in scoring (8.3 ppg) and third in rebounding (3.6 rpg), while Nnamdi Okolue played in all 24 games last season, leading the squad in rebounding (5.3 rpg) and ranking third in scoring (8.2 ppg). … The Norse were picked to finish fifth in this year's IIAC Preseason Coaches Poll | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics