NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team kicks off Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play on Wednesday, traveling to Carleton for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Knights.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-0 MIAC | 0-4 Overall)
at Carleton Knights (0-0 MIAC | 2-1 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals put together a couple of late-game rallies, but could not get over the hump, as SMU dropped both of its games at the UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Classic last weekend. Saint Mary's fell to host UW-Oshkosh 91-79 last Friday, then dropped a 75-67 decision to UW- Eau Claire a day later. … Carleton, meanwhile, recorded a 76-62 nonconfernece win over Aurora last Saturday in Aurora, Ill.

SMU vs. Carleton — A Year Ago:
January 8, 2011: Chris Palmer scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, but the sophomore's effort was not enough, as Carleton raced out to a 36-24 halftime lead and handed the Cardinals a 74-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback in Northfield, Minn.
February 12, 2011: The Cardinals could not find their shooting touch, falling to Carleton 76-55 in an MIAC game at the SMU Gym. SMU shot 36 percent from the field, hitting 19 of 52 field goals, but couldn't slow down the high-powered, league-leading Knights.

Up Next:
The Cardinals finally open their home schedule on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym. … Carleton, meanwhile, plays its second straight home conference game on Saturday, hosting Saint John's in a 3 p.m. game at the West Gym in Northfield, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Wednesday's game at Carleton is the fifth straight road game for the Cardinals, who play nine of their first 11 games on the road. … After opening the season with a career-best 19-point effort against the University of Dallas on Nov. 18, Michael Burfeind recorded his first two collegiate 20-plus point performances at last weekend's UW-Oshkosh Thanksgiving Classic. Burfeind netted a collegiate-best 24 points against host UW-Oshkosh last Friday, then added a 21-point effort a day later against UW-Eau Claire. … The Cardinals boasted five players — Burfeind (24), Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn. / 13), LaMonte Hall (Minneapolis, Minn. / 12), Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis. / 10) and Brandon Larsen (Rochester, Minn. / 10) — in double figures against UW-Oshkosh last Friday. It marked the first time since Feb. 10, 2010 that the Cardinals recorded five double-figure scorers in a game. … Hall's 12-point effort and Larsen's 10-point showing vs. the Titans were career-bests. … Pederson, Freeman and Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) all missed out on their first collegiate double-doubles by two rebounds at the season-opening University of Dallas Tip-Off Tournament. … As a team, the Cardinals committed just three turnovers vs. UW-Oshkosh last Friday, the fewest since recording three turnovers against Augsburg on Feb. 10, 2007. … Burfeind, who has now led the team in scoring in three of their first four games, enters Wednesday's game at Carleton averaging a team-best 17.5 ppg, while Freeman is also averaging in double figures at 13.3 ppg. … Pederson has dished out a team-high 19 assists through four games, while Freeman is tops in rebounds with 17, one more than Burfeind and two in front of Pederson. … The Cardinals, who closed out the 2010-2011 season as the top free-throw shooting team in all of NCAA Division III — shooting a school-record .794 from the line (394-for-496) — are 83—for-102 (81 percent) from the line this season.  … SMU went to the free throw line a season-high 32 times against UW-Oshkosh last Friday, converting on 28 of those 32.

Carleton Knights News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Carleton's 78-62 win over Aurora last Saturday was its second straight win — with both victories coming in the state of Illinois. The Knights scored the game-winning basket with 2.3 seconds remaining in beating Elmhurst 69-67 last Wednesday. … Scott Theisen scored a career-high 23 points in the Knights' 78-62 win over Aurora last Friday. … Taylor Hanson also had a career night against Aurora, recording his first collegiate double-double with career-highs of 20 points and 17 rebounds. … Caleb Rosenow scored 10 points vs. Aurora, giving the senior 10 or more points in all three of the Knights' games this season. … Carleton enters Wednesday's home game against Carleton with four players averaging in double figures, led by Tom Sawatzke at 15.7 ppg. Theisen (14.0 ppg), Hanson (14.0 ppg) and Rosenow (13.0 ppg) are the other three. … Hanson also leads the team with 28 rebounds (9.3 rpg). … Carleton has been outscored by one point, 92-91, in the first half, but the Knights hold a 104-88 advantage in the game's final 20 minutes.