The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team landed a pair of players on the All-Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference First Team a year ago, when then-sophomores Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) were welcomed into the conference's exclusive club.

Thursday afternoon, the Cardinal duo was welcomed back.

And they brought a friend with them.

Wright and Holland were named to the All-MIAC First Team for the second straight year, while freshman Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) was not only an honorable-mention All-MIAC pick, but also selected to the conference's All-First Year Team.

Wright finished second in the league in scoring, averaging 18.0 ppg in 20 conference games. The junior guard scored 359 points, second only to Hamline's Ray Brown, who led the league with 372 points (18.6 ppg). Wright also led the league in minutes played (718, 35.90 mpg) and finished the season fifth in the conference in steals with 28 (1.40 spg).

Holland, meanwhile, averaged 13.4 ppg for the Cardinals, who closed out the 2009-2010 season with a 7-13 conference mark. Holland ranked 12th in the league in scoring, while also ranking fourth in minutes played (668, 33.40 mpg) and finishing fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (30-for-70, .429).

It was a banner year for Wright and Holland. The two became the 25th and 26 members of the SMU 1,000-point Club. Wright eclipsed 1,000 career points on Dec. 5 against Bethel, while Holland hit 1,000 career points on Feb. 1 against St. Thomas.

Wright, who closed out the season as the team's scoring leader (453 points, 18.1 ppg in 25 games), currently ranks eighth in career scoring with 1,354 points. He will enter his senior year 190 points behind No. 7 Ken Jansen, and 557 points behind all-time career leader Marvin Tunstall (1,911 points). Holland, meanwhile, scored 359 points this season (14.4 ppg) and is sitting 22nd all-time with 1,080 career points.

Palmer took the league by storm in his first season, ranking fourth in scoring (299 points, 15.0 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (171 rebounds, 8.6 rpg). The Cardinal freshman, who put together eight double-doubles — including four in SMU's last five games — led the league in free throws made (95), was third in the MIAC in free throw percentage (95-for-110, .864) and offensive rebounds (50, 2.5 orpg), and fifth in defensive rebounds (121, 6.05  drpg). Overall, Palmer appeared in all 25 games for the Cardinals, averaging 14.4 ppg and a team-best 8.1 rpg.

As part of the conference-wide sportsmanship initiative, the MIAC also announced the fourth annual All-MIAC Sportsmanship team for men's basketball, which included SMU's #Ryan Wockenfus (New London, Wis.). Members of the All-MIAC Sportsmanship Team are selected by their coaches and teammates as individuals who demonstrate ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field and competition.

Complete All-MIAC Team