WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team, coming off back-to-back nonconference wins to open the season, kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play Wednesday, playing host to Augsburg in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC / 2-0 Overall)
Augsburg Auggies (0-0 MIAC / 4-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals have been off since Nov. 20, when they got 23 points from Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) and 12 from Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.) en route to a 67-59 nonconference win over Luther at the SMU Gym. Augsburg, meanwhile, posted a perfect 2-0 record at the Nebraska Wesleyan Tournament Nov. 26-27 in Lincoln, Neb. The Auggies opened with a 74-60 win over Westminster, then followed that up with a 60-59 victory over Nebraska-Wesleyan.

A Year Ago:
January 18, 2010 — SMU got double-figure scoring from three players — including a game-high 19 points from Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and a double-double of 13 points and 12 rebounds from Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.), but it was not quite enough, as Augsburg built a 14-point second-half lead and held off a late run to beat the Cardinals 73-66 at the SMU Gym.

February 19, 2010 — Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored a season-high 30 points, but it was not enough, as Augsburg handed the Cardinals a 76-72 setback in the teams' regular-season finale in Minneapolis, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road following tonight's game, traveling to Macalester Saturday for a 3 p.m. MIAC showdown with the Scots in St. Paul, Minn. Augsburg, meanwhile, heads to Northfield, Minn., Saturday for a 3 p.m. conference game against Carleton.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
The Cardinals boasted three players in double figures vs. Luther on Nov. 20. Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) led the way, scoring 23 points, while Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.) and Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. … Seifert — who recorded back-to-back double-figure scoring performances for the first time in his collegiate career — also pulled down seven rebounds and blocked four shots, both career-highs. … Palmer's 23-point effort was the fifth time in his career the sophomore has scored 20 or more points — and was just three points shy of his career high. … Palmer and Wright both enter tonight's game vs. Augsburg with lengthy double-figure scoring streaks. Wright has scored 10 or more points in 32 consecutive games, while Palmer has scored in double figures in 17 straight contests. … Wright has now scored in double figures 68 times in his 72 collegiate games. … With his 10 points vs. Luther, Wright pushed his career mark to 1,383, 161 points behind Ken Jansen for seventh all-time in career scoring. … Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.), meanwhile, boasts 1,105 career points and is 14 points back of Marty Lillig for No. 21 all-time. … After getting scoring from eight different players in their season-opening win over Crown, the Cardinals got scoring from nine different players vs. Luther. … SMU's season-opening win over Crown marked the second straight season in which the Cardinals have opened with a victory, while their 67-59 victory over Luther on Nov. 20 gave them their first season-opening two-game winning streak since the start of the 1998-1999 season | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Augsburg Auggies News and Notes:
With its two wins at the Nebraska-Wesleyan Tournament, Augsburg is off to its second straight 4-0 start to the season, marking the first time that the Auggies have started consecutive seasons at least 4-0 since the 1979-80 (20-0 start) and 1980-81 (5-0 start) campaigns. … Matthew Quammen scored a game-high 16 points — including the game-winning basket with 26 seconds remaining — in the Auggies' win over Nebaska-Wesleyan. The senior was named the tournament's most valuable player. … Andy Grzesiak-Grimm posted his first double-double of the season vs. the Prairie Wolves, scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in earning all-tournament honors. … The Auggies have scored 60 or more points in all four of their games — including a season-high 89 in a season-opening 89-55 win over Northland on Nov. 19. … Quammen has now led the team in scoring in three of their first four games and enters tonight's conference-opener at Saint Mary's averaging 14.3 ppg. … Grzesiak-Grimm, meanwhile, is averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg and also leads the team in rebounding at 6.8 rpg. … Today's game is the fourth road contest of the season for the Auggies. … The Auggies, under the direction of MIAC Coach of the Year Aaron Griess, are coming off their second straight trip to the MIAC playoff semifinals. The Auggies, who finished tied for second in the MIAC regular-season standings, went 19-8 overall a year ago — marking the fifth consecutive season in which Augsburg has improved its record from the previous season — and are coming off their highest conference finish since the 1999-00 season | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics