Box Score  | GameDay Preview

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team matched Carleton basket-for-basket over the game's final 20 minutes Wednesday evening.

Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the first half wasn't as kind, as SMU made just 4 of 24 field goals and never recovered in falling to the Knights 93-48 in the teams' Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.

“I've been involved in basketball for a long time, and that first half was the most embarrassing I have ever experienced as an athlete or a coach,” said SMU coach Todd Landrum, whose Cardinals trailed 58-13 at the break. “The freshmen and (Tim) Kunkel (Northfield, Ill.) were the only ones who showed up to play tonight — the rest of the guys left their games on the bus.”

The Knights scored the game's first seven points, before LaMonte Hall (Minneapolis, Minn.) got the Cardinals on the board at 17:39 of the opening half. By the time Kunkel knocked down a free throw nine minutes later, however, Carleton had gone on a 30-0 run for a 37-3 advantage.

The Cardinals' offense got on track a bit in the second half, shooting 50 percent from the field (9-for-18), while adding a 16-for-23 effort from the free throw line en route to their 35 second-half points.

Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) scored a career-high 14 points — reaching double figures for the third time in the Cardinals' five games this season — while Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in 12 points.

Carleton boasted six players in double figures, led by Caleb Rosenow with a game-high 20 points.

The Cardinals (0-1 MIAC, 0-5 overall) are back in action on Saturday, hosting St. Olaf in a 3 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. It will be the home opener for SMU, which played its first five games on the road this season.