WINONA, Minn. — After four straight road games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team finally returns home on Saturday, hosting Gustavus in a 3 p.m. MIAC contest at the SMU Gym.




The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-7 MIAC / 8-7 Overall)
Gustavus Gusties (8-2 MIAC / 10-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals raced out to a 10-point, 41-31 halftime advantage, but couldn't hold off the Auggies' furious second-half charge, as Augsburg rallied for a 68-65 MIAC win Wednesday in Minneapolis, Minn. Gustavus, meanwhile, had little trouble disposing of Bethel, rolling to an 87-72 conference win in St. Peter, Minn., Wednesday.

A Year Ago:
December 7, 2009: Trailing by 23, 47-24, at the break, SMU erupted for 53 second-half points, and had a chance at a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game, but Lukas Holland's (La Crosse, Wis.) trey went in-and-out, allowing Gustavus to hang on for an 80-77 MIAC victory in St. Peter, Minn.

January 27, 2010: The Cardinals snapped a 17-year drought against the high-powered Gusties, as SMU got double-figure scoring from five different players en route to a 78-75 conference win at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are back on the road on Wednesday, traveling to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. conference showdown against Bethel. Gustavus, meanwhile, is also on the road on Wednesday, heading to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game against St. Olaf.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Saturday's game vs. Gustavus is the Cardinals' first home contest since Jan. 5. SMU is coming off a four-game road swing. With this Wednesday's game at Bethel, the Cardinals will have played nine of their last 11 games on the road. … SMU boasted four players in double figures in Wednesday's 68-65 loss at Augsburg — Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) and Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) each scored 18 points, while Pat Freeman (Champlin, Minn.) and Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) added 12 and 11 points, respectively. The quartet accounted for 59 of the team's 65 points vs. Augsburg. … Palmer also pulled down a game-high 11 points for his fifth double-double in the last six games. … With his 19 points vs. Augsburg, Palmer has now scored in double figures in nine straight games and 12 times in the team's 14 games this season — including a career-best 37 points in SMU's win over Bethel on Dec. 6. … Palmer's 37-point effort against Bethel was the Cardinals' highest individual offensive output since Wright scored 41 points vs. MacMurray on Nov. 22, 2008. … Palmer, who has collected nine double-doubles this season — and 17 in his collegiate career — enters today's game against Gustavus averaging a team- and conference-best 18.8 ppg. … Palmer, who is averaging 9.6 rebounds-per-game, has led the team in rebounding in 13 of its 14 games. … Palmer, who drained 11 of 12 free throws in last Monday's loss at Saint John's — marking the fifth time this season he has made 10 or more free throws in a game — was a perfect 4-for-4 from the line vs. Augsburg. … With his 18 points vs. Augsburg, Wright has now scored in double figures in 79 of his 90 collegiate games, including 32 games of 20 or more points. … Wright enters the weekend with 1,606 career points. He currently ranks sixth all time and trails No. 5 Doug Luebbe by 78 points. … Holland, meanwhile, boasts 1,247 career points and is 13 points behind George Hoder for 11th all-time. … The Cardinals boasted two players with 20 or more points in their Dec. 4 win over Macalester, as Wright scored a game-high 29 points and Holland chipped in 23. Both were season highs. … The Cardinals enter today's game vs. Gustavus with three players averaging in double figures — Palmer (18.8 ppg), Wright (16.8 ppg) and Holland (11.1 ppg). … Wright leads the team with 20 3-pointers. Palmer (15), Holland (15) and Freeman (15) have also netted 10 or more treys this season. … Wright and Palmer are one-two, individually, in the conference in free throw percentage. Wright is 56-for-61 (.918) from the line, while Palmer is 97-for-108 (.898). Along with his league-leading 18.8 ppg scoring average, Palmer is also second in the league in rebounding (133 rebounds, 9.5 rpg), while Wright is third in scoring (16.8 ppg). … As a team, the Cardinals lead the MIAC in free throw percentage (.808), knocking down 249 of 308 attempts. … SMU's loss at St. Thomas on Jan. 3 snapped the Cardinals' season-high six-game winning streak. … 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 | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
With their 85-72 win over Bethel on Wednesday, the Gusties pushed their winning streak to four straight. It's the second time this season Gustavus has put together a four-game winning streak. … The Gusties come into today's game at Saint Mary's having won eight of their last 11 games. … All three of GAC's losses during their current 8-3 run were decided in overtime — an 83-78 loss at UW-La Crosse, a 94-89 loss vs. Hamline and an 88-64 setback at St. Thomas. … Gustavus' 85 points Wednesday marked the fifth time this season the Gusties have netted 80 or more points. … With Wednesday's win, GAC improved to 6-1 on their home court. The Gusties are just 4-4 on the road this season. … Dan Schmidtknecht scored a team-high 17 points in the Gusties' win over Bethel Wednesday. Paul Blacklock and Phil Wirtjes also scored in double figures vs. the Royals, adding 14 and 10 points, respectively. … With Schmidtknecht's 17-point effort Wednesday, the Gusties have now had a different leading scorer in each of their last four games. … Blacklock, meanwhile, led the team in rebounding for the fourth straight game — and seventh time this season — with his seven boards vs. Bethel. … The Gusties enter today's game at Saint Mary's with three players averaging in double figures, led by Wirtjes at 12.7 ppg. … James Hill (10.7 ppg) and Schmidtknecht (10.0 ppg) are the other two. … Gustavus has four players with 10 or more 3-pointers, led by Wirtjes with 24. … Wirtjes, Schmidtknecht, Blacklock and Hill have started all 15 games this season for the Gusties. … As a team, the Gusties are averaging 74.8 ppg, and have outscored their opponents 1,122-1,027 | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics