ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns to MIAC play Monday, traveling to St. Thomas for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against the league-leading Tommies



The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-1 MIAC / 8-1 Overall)
St. Thomas Tommies (4-0 MIAC / 9-0 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals are coming off back-to-back wins at the Illinois College Bill Merris Tournament. SMU opened with a 66-59 double-overtime win over Millikin on Dec. 29, then got a Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) basket with 1.5 seconds remaining to beat host Illinois Chicago 61-60. St. Thomas, meanwhile, has been off since Dec. 22, when the Tommies rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to defeat No. 4-ranked UW-Stevens Point, 61-54, in St. Paul, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 11, 2010 — St. Thomas outscored the Cardinals 14-7 over the game's final five minutes, turning a two-point game into a 77-68 UST victory in St. Paul, Minn.

February 1, 2010 — The Cardinals gave St. Thomas all it could handle at the SMU Gym, but the Tommies opened up a 44-23 halftime advantage and held off SMU down the stretch en route to an 82-70 MIAC victory.

Up Next:
After three straight road games, the Cardinals return home on Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. St. Thomas hosts Carleton in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game on Wednesday at Schoenecker Arena.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
With their two wins at the Bill Merris Tournament, the Cardinals pushed their winning streak to six straight. … At 8-1, SMU is off to the second-best start in program history. … With their two wins in Jacksonville, Ill., the Cardinals improved to 5-0 on the road this season. The Cardinals play five of their next six games away from home. … SMU's 66-59 double-overtime win over Millikin on Dec. 29 was its first 2 OT game since the Cardinals lost to Concordia 63-59 on Jan. 3, 1998. … Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.), who averaged 17.0 ppg in SMU's two tournament games, was named the Bill Merris Tournament MVP, while Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) and Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) joined Wright on the all-tournament team. … Palmer collected his fourth double-double of the season — and 12th of his collegiate career — in the Cardinals' double-overtime win over Millikin on Dec. 29, scoring 23 points and pulling down 13 boards. … Wright has now scored in double figures in 39 straight games — and 75 times in his 76 collegiate games. The senior guard has also eclipsed the 20-point barrier 31 times in his career. … Wright has netted 1,514 points in his four years at SMU, leaving him 34 points behind Ken Jansen for seventh all-time in career scoring. … Holland, meanwhile, boasts 1,199 career points, leaving him three points behind Willie Green for No. 14 all-time. … Palmer scored a career-high 37 points in leading the Cardinals to their 79-64 win over Bethel on Dec. 6. Palmer's effort was the Cardinals' highest individual offensive output since Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored 41 points vs. MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. … Palmer's 13 free throws made vs. the Royals were also the most since Holland drained 14 vs. Hamline on Feb. 11, 2009. … The Cardinals boasted two players with 20 or more points for the first time this season in their Dec. 4 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. St. Thomas boasting three players averaging in double figures — Wright (17.8 ppg), Palmer (17.8 ppg), and Holland (13.2 ppg). … Palmer is also averaging a team-high 8.6 rpg. … Palmer leads the league in total rebounds (9.5 rpg) and defensive rebounds (32, 8.0 drpg), and is second in the MIAC in 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, tied for the league lead in scoring (20.3 ppg). … As a team, the Cardinals lead the league in free-throw percentage (.889, 80-for-90), 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 302-259 in the game's opening 20 minutes | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
With their win over fourth-ranked and defending national champion UW-Stevens Point on Dec. 22, the Tommies ran their regular-season winning streak to 21 straight — including nine straight to open this season. … UST has the best record among all NCAA Division III college men's basketball teams over the last three seasons at 62-5. … UST's current 12-game road winning streak includes a 5-0 away record this season. … St. Thomas is close to joining a select group of Division III schools to win 1,500 games as it comes into Monday's game with Saint Mary's boasting 1,497 victories since its first varsity games in 1904. … Coach Steve Fritz is closing in on 575 victories in his 31 seasons as head coach. His overall record is 573-243, including a 451-148 mark in MIAC regular-season games. … All-American guard Tyler Nicolai will make his 86th career start when UST plays SMU. UST is 84-10 in his career. Nicolai became the 29th Tommie player to score 1,000 career points and now has 1,071 points. … Alex Healy is averaging a team-leading 13.9 ppg, while Nicolai (12.3 ppg) and Tommy Hannon (12.2 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … UST has trailed in the second half in six of its nine victories. The Tommies won 76-72 at NCAA Division II Concordia University and used a game-closing 40-12 run to win at St. Olaf. … The Tommies return 11 of their top 14 players from a 23-4, MIAC champion and NCAA playoff team. UST is chasing its sixth consecutive conference championship — a feat only accomplished once previously in MIAC men's basketball (by Hamline, which won seven in a row from 1946-53) | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics