WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team, coming off a Monday loss at league-leading St. Thomas, returns home Wednesday, hosting St. Olaf in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC game at the SMU Gym.



The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (3-2 MIAC / 8-2 Overall)
St. Olaf Oles (1-4 MIAC / 6-4 Overall)

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Last Action:
St. Thomas used a 13-0 run to start the second half to pull away from SMU and lead the ninth-ranked Tommies to a 90-58 conference win over the Cardinals in St. Paul, Minn., on Monday. St. Olaf, meanwhile, could not slow down high-flying Augsburg, as the Auggies had seven players with at least nine points in rolling to a 92-74 MIAC win over the Oles in Minneapolis, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 13, 2010: The Oles' inside-outside combination of Bobby Fong, Alfred Jaryan and Stu Neville wore the Cardinals out, as St. Olaf outscored SMU 43-37 in the second half en route to a 75-69 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory.

February 17, 2010: The Cardinals — fueled by a career-high 32 points from Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) — used a 15-3 burst to break open a 41-41 deadlock and never looked back in cruising to a 77-64 conference victory at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
The Cardinals begin a four-game road swing on Saturday, when they travel to Northfield, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference contest against Carleton. St. Olaf, meanwhile, is off until Jan. 12, when they host Hamline in a 7:30 p.m. MIAC tilt in Northfield, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) put together his fifth double-double of the season — and 13th of his collegiate career — by scoring 25 points and pulling down 11 rebounds against the Tommies Monday. … Palmer's 25 points marked the fourth time in SMU's first 10 games that the sophomore has scored 20 or more points. Palmer netted a career-best 37 points in SMU's win over Bethel on Dec. 6. … Palmer's 37-point effort against Bethel on Dec . 6 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 on Dec. 6 were also the most since Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) drained 14 vs. Hamline on Feb. 11, 2009. … Wright chipped in 18 points against the Tommies Monday. The senior guard has now scored in double figures in 40 straight games — and 76 times in his four year career. Wright also boasts 31 20-point efforts during his collegiate career. … Wright has now netted 1,514 career points, leaving him 16 points shy of Ken Jansen for seventh all time in career scoring. … With his four points vs. UST Monday, Holland moved past Willie Green for No. 14 all-time with 1,203 points. Holland is 29 points behind Ryan Rankin for No. 13. … 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 tonight's game vs. St. Olaf boasting three players averaging in double figures — Palmer (18.5 ppg), Wright (17.8 ppg) and Holland (12.3 ppg). … Palmer also owns a team-best 88 rebounds (8.8 rpg). … SMU's loss at St. Thomas was the first road loss of the season for the Cardinals, who are 5-1 away from home. … Monday's setback vs. UST also 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. … As a team, the Cardinals lead the MIAC in free throws made (98) and free throw percentage (.831) through five conference games. … Wright is averaging a league-best 19.8 ppg through five MIAC contests, while also leading the MIAC in minutes played (36.80). Palmer, meanwhile, is second in rebounds (9.8 rpg) | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

St. Olaf Ole News and Notes:
After opening the season with six straight wins, the Oles have dropped four straight. … Four of St. Olaf's six wins have come on the road, where the Oles are 4-2. … Augsburg's 92 points Monday were the most allowed by St. Olaf this season. On the flip side, the Oles scored a season-high 96 points in their season-opening 96-84 win over Bethany Lutheran on Nov. 15. … Nathan Kuck came off the bench to score a game-high 21 points vs. Augsburg Monday. … The Oles boasted four players in double figures against the Auggies — Kuck, Tucker Sheley (16), Bobby Fong (14) and Stu Neville (12). The four accounted for 63 of the team's 74 points. … St. Olaf enters today's game with three players averaging in double figures — Neville (15.6 ppg), Fong (13.8 ppg) and Sheley (12.6 ppg). … St. Olaf holds a 372-330 scoring edge in the first half, while being outscored 367-359 in the game's final 20 minutes | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics