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WINONA, Minn. — To put it simply, the Bethel men's basketball team just couldn't stop Saint Mary's University's Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.).

No matter what the Royals did, Palmer had an answer and then some.

The SMU sophomore enjoyed his best night as a Cardinal as he went for a career-high 37 points to go along with 11 rebounds, as SMU topped Bethel 79-64 in an MIAC matchup, Monday night at SMU gym.

With the win, the Cardinals move to 4-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

“What's amazing about Chris is how mature he is playing this season,” SMU coach Todd Landrum said. “He's really becoming a complete basketball player.”

Perhaps what is even more amazing is that at 3 p.m. Monday afternoon, the Cardinals weren't even sure if Palmer could play.

After straining his thumb in Saturday's victory over Macalester, Palmer sat out Sunday's practice, and went into the doctor to get his left thumb x-rayed to see if it was broken. X-ray's came back negative and he was cleared to play, as long as he could stand the pain.

The pain didn't seem to bother him, and the wrap on the thumb didn't seem to bother his shot, as Palmer started the game hitting his first four shots, including three 3-pointers.

Palmer finished the game 10-of-12 from the field, 4-of-5 from the 3-point line, and a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line.

The 37 points is the most scored by a Cardinal since Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored 41 against MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. Along with his 37 points, Palmer also pulled down 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season, while Wright chipped in 16 points, and Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) and Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) added 13 and 10 points, respectively

“He's definitely no secret to teams in our league,” Landrum said. “He can really inflict some damage when he has the ball, and he's one of the better in and out players I've coached.”

The Cardinals are back in action on Saturday as Concordia comes to town for a 3 p.m. tip-off.