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WINONA, Minn. —Viterbo's 42-point second half was too much for the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team Wednesday evening, as the Cardinals fell to the V-Hawks 62-58 at SMU Gym.

“I was very proud of our effort,” coach Todd Landrum said. “But we had some decision-making with the lead that was critical and then (Viterbo) hurt us on the offensive board.

“It was a pretty good game, but when we got the lead, we got careless.”

The Cardinals led by six twice in the first half, the second time on a buzzer-beater by Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) that gave SMU a 26-20 advantage heading into the locker room at the break.

SMU built their lead to 11, 38-27, with 14:07 remaining in regulation. Viterbo used a 15-4 run to pull even at 42-42, at 9:13. The V-Hawks then used a second run, outscoring SMU 15-6, to grab a 57-48 lead with 1:15 left on the clock. SMU used a run of its own — scoring 10 of the next 12 points to make it a two-point game, 60-58, with 11 seconds left.

That, however, would be as close as the Cardinals would get, as Viterbo made a pair of free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.

“They just kept getting those second shots,” Landrum said. “When you give a team that many shots and opportunities, sooner or later they're going to crack.”

Burfeind, the reigning MIAC Player of the Week — who was coming off a career-high 38-point effort against Concordia last Wednesday — led the offensive attack for the Cardinals, scoring 27 points. Pederson and Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) each added eight more.

“Our guys never quit,” Landrum said. “We have high-quality guys, good character guys and they're just trying to dig out of a hole right now.”

The Cardinals are off until Jan. 4, when they travel to St. Peter, Minn., to take on Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matchup.