Box Score Game Summary / GameDay Preview

JACKSONVILE, Ill. — It took a little longer than Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Todd Landrum probably would have liked, but in the end, the Cardinals did what they've now done seven times in their first eight games — win.

The Cardinals needed a pair of five-minute overtimes in their opening game of the Illinois College Bill Merris Tournament against Millikin, but a 13-6 run in the game's second OT period carried SMU to the 66-59 victory Wednesday evening.

With the win, the Cardinals continued their torrid start to the season, improving to 7-1 overall — the second-best start to the season in the program's history — while running their winning streak to a season-high five straight.

“We finished strong,” said Landrum, whose team will face the winner of the Clarke-Illinois College game at 3 p.m. Thursday in the tournament's title game. “Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) knocked down some big shots for us and our bench did a nice job.”

Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) led the way for the Cardinals, scoring a game-high 23 points, while also pulling down 13 rebounds en route to his fourth double-double of the season. Burfeind finished with 15 points — two shy of his career high — while Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) chipped in 10 points.

The Cardinals trailed by one, 29-28, at the half, then tied the game for the eighth time on a basket by Burfeind with 12 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Burfeind gave SMU a 53-51 advantage with 1:32 remaining in the first overtime, but Millikin's Kyle Taylor drained a jumper with four seconds on the clock to force a second overtime.

In the second OT, it was all SMU, as Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) drilled a 3-pointer to give SMU a 56-53 lead and the Cardinals never looked back, much to the delight of the SMU fans — led by Ann Merchlewitz — who were in attendance.