LA CROSSE, Wis. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team steps out of conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Viterbo for a 7 p.m. contest against the V-Hawks




The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-1 Overall)
Viterbo V-Hawks (1-8 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals ran their conference winning streak to three straight on Saturday, knocking off Concordia 69-55 at the SMU Gym. Viterbo, meanawhile, has been off since Tuesday, when they picked up an 85-77 double-overtime win over Waldorf in La Crosse, Wis.

Last Meeting:
The Cardinals and V-Hawks have not met since the 2001-2002 season, when Viterbo handed SMU a 66-58 nonconference setback in La Crosse, Wis.

Up Next:
After tonight's game, the Cardinals will be off until Dec. 29-30, when they travel to Jacksonville, Ill., to take part in the Illinois College Tournament. SMU opens against Millikin University at 5:30 on Dec. 28, and will meet either host Illinois College or Clarke College the following day. Viterbo, meanwhile, is back in action on Saturday, traveling to UW-Stout for a 6 p.m. nonconference game.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Saturday's win over Concordia extended SMU's winning streak to three straight. … The Cardinals boasted three players in double figures against the Cobbers on Saturday, led by Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) with 18 points each. Pat Freeman (Champlin, Minn.) chipped in 14 points. … Freeman's 14 points were one shy of his career high, while his five field goals made and three, 3-pointers, were both career bests. … Wright has now scored in double figures in 36 straight games — and 72 times in his 75 collegiate games. The senior guard has also eclipsed the 20-point barrier 30 times in his career. … Wright has netted 1,464 points in his four years at SMU, leaving him 80 points behind Ken Jansen for seventh all-time in career scoring. … Holland, meanwhile, boasts 1,168 career points, leap-frogging Jerry Sauser, Paul Saufl, Pat Wiltgen, Mike Miller and Jerry Hoffman into 16th place all-time. … Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) — the reigning MIAC Player of the Week — scored a career-high 37 points in leading the Cardinals to their 79-64 win over Bethel on Dec. 6 … Palmer's effort, which included a 10-for-12 effort from the field and a perfect 13-for-13 showing from the free-throw line, was the Cardinals' highest individual offensive output since Wright scored 41 points vs. MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. … Palmer's 13 free throws made were also the most since Holland drained 14 vs. Hamline on Feb. 11, 2009. … Palmer was 4-for-4 from the line against Concordia and has missed just one free throw this season, going 40-for-41 from the charity stripe. … Along with his 37 points, Palmer also pulled down 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season and 11th of his collegiate career. … The Cardinals boasted two players with 20 or more points for the first time this season in last Saturday's win over Macalester, as Wright scored a game-high 29 points and Holland chipped in 23. Both were season highs. … SMU enters today's game vs. Viterbo boasting three players averaging in double figures — Wright (18.3 ppg), Palmer (17.5 ppg), and Holland (14.8 ppg). … Palmer is also averaging a team-high 8.7 rpg. … Palmer leads the league in defensive rebounds (32, 8.0 rpg) and is second in the MIAC in rebounds (9.5 rpg) and 3-point field goal percentage (.714, 5-for-7) in four conference contests. … Wright, meanwhile, is the conference leader in minutes played, averaging 37.50 minutes-per-game. … As a team, the Cardinals lead the league in free-throw percentage (.889, 80-for-90) and defensive rebounds (111), are second in 3-point percentage (.404, 23-for-57) and are third in field goal percentage (.477, 93-for-195). … SMU has outscored its opponents 213-161 in the game's opening 20 minutes | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Viterbo V-Hawks News and Notes:
The V-Hawks snapped their season-opening eight-game losing streak with last Tuesday's 85-77, double-overtime win over Martin Luther. … The 85 points were also a season-high for the V-Hawks. … Ryan Ambrose scored a team-high 23 points, marking the seventh time in Viterbo's nine games that the senior has led the team in scoring. … Ambrose has now scored 20 or more points three times this season, including a season-best 31-point effort in the team's season-opening loss to Saint Xavier. … Alex Rau scored a career-best 17 points vs. Martin Luther. He and Ambrose were two of five V-Hawks scoring in double figures against the Knights. … Ambrose enters tonight's nonconference game against Saint Mary's averaging a team-best 18.4 ppg, while Matt Turba is also averaging in double figures at 10.4 ppg. … Ambrose and Alex Diciaula have accounted for more than half of the team's 3-pointers this season. Ambrose has knocked down a team-best 16 treys, while Diciaula has chipped in 12. … The V-Hawks have been outscored 675-563 through nine games this season | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics