WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team closes out the home portion of its schedule Wednesday, hosting Saint John's in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.





The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-14 MIAC / 9-14 Overall)
Saint John's Johnnies (9-9 MIAC / 13-10 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals could not find their shooting touch Saturday afternoon, falling to Carleton 76-55 in an MIAC game at the SMU Gym. … Saint John's, meanwhile, erased a 25-point deficit with 18:47 left in regulation and earned a crucial 96-88 overtime win over Gustavus Monday in St. Peter, Minn.

Earlier This Year:
January 17, 2011: Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) missed out on his fifth straight double-double by one rebound, but the sophomore's effort was not quite enough, as Saint John's broke away from a three-point halftime advantage in handing the Cardinals an 84-68 MIAC setback in Collegeville, Minn.

A Year Ago:
January 2, 2010: Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) scored a team-high 17 points to lead three players in double figures, but the Cardinals ould not shut down Saint John's one-two combination of Sam Blank and Aaron Burtzel in falling to the Johnnies 69-62 at the SMU Gym

January 30, 2010: Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) scored 18 points, but SJU scored 19 of the 29 points scored in the game's final 10 minutes to outlast SMU, 66-55 in Collegeville, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals close out their season on Saturday, traveling to St. Peter, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference game against Gustavus. … Saint John's, meanwhile, also ends its regular-season schedule on Saturday, hosting St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. MIAC game in Collegeville, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Wednesday's game against Saint John's is the final collegiate home game for SMU seniors Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.), Lukas Holland (Faribault, Minn.), Ryan Wockenfus (New London, Wis.), Patrick Connolly (Chicago, Ill.), Matt Murphy (Woodbury, Minn.) and Gary Seifert (Prescott, Wis.). … Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) netted a team-high 12 points, while Wright and Holland each chipped in 10 in Saturday's 76-55 loss to Carleton. … Palmer missed out on his 11th double-double of the season and 19th of his career by one rebound Saturday. … Palmer enters today's game as the team's leader in scoring average (17.7 ppg), rebounding (209, 9.5 rpg) and free throw percentage (135-for-150. .900). … Palmer ranks No. 1 in the MIAC in free throw percentage, while his scoring and rebounding averages are both No. 2 amongst MIAC players. … Palmer missed his lone free throw vs. St. Olaf last Wednesday, snapping his free throw streak at 25 straight. … Palmer has gone 29-for-32 from the line in his last five games — including a 21-for-23 performance against Macalester on Jan. 29. … Palmer's 21 made free throws vs. Macalester tied the MIAC single-game record, originally set in 1957. … Palmer's 31 points against the Scots on Jan. 29 marked the second time this season the sophomore has netted 30 or more points. Palmer scored a career-best 37 points against Bethel on Dec. 6. … Wright has now scored in double figures in 11 straight games, 21 times this season and 87 times in his 98-game collegiate career. … Wright has eclipsed the 20-point barrier 34 times in his career. … Wright enters today's game vs. Saint John's sitting fifth all-time with 1,739 career points. He is 23 points behind No. 4 Pat Costello. … Holland, meanwhile, pushed his career point total to 1,330 with his 10 points vs. Carleton. The senior guard is currently tied with Tom Keenan for eighth on SMU's all-time scoring list. … The Cardinals enter today's game vs. Saint John's with three players averaging in double figures — Palmer (17.7 ppg), Wright (16.7 ppg) and Holland (10.9 ppg). … Wright is the league-leader in minutes played (35.8 mpg), while ranking third in scoring (16.7 ppg). … As a team, the Cardinals rank No. 1 in the MIAC and all of NCAA Division III in free throw percentage (370-for-464, .797). … The Cardinals boast four players with 20 or more 3-pointers, led by Wright with 28. … SMU's 35 FTM and 43 FTM against Macalester on Dec. 4 were both season highs, and the most since the Cardinals went 37-for-47 against Hamline on Feb. 11, 2009. … With their win over Macalester on Jan. 29, the Cardinals are now a perfect 6-0 against the Scots under Coach Landrum | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics

Saint John's Johnnies News and Notes:
The Johnnies enter the final two games of the regular season with a half-game lead over Augsburg (9-10) and Concordia (9-10) for the final MIAC post-season berth. The Johnnies close out their season at Saint Mary's (4-14) Wednesday and at home against St. Thomas (15-3) on Saturday, while Concordia is at Hamline (13-5) on Saturday and Augsburg is at home against Gustavus (10-8) on Wednesday. … Wednesday's 96-88 overtime win over Gustavus was SJU's fourth straight. The Johnnies are also 5-1 in their last six games. … SJU outscored Gustavus 72-41 after halftime Monday — including a 10-0 run to end the second half and force overtime. … Aaron Burtzel scored a career-high 32 points against the Gusties on Monday, going 9-for-12 from the field nad 14-for-18 from the free throw line. … With his 32 points, Burtzel vaulted from No. 23 on the SJU all-time scoring list to No. 18 with 1,117 points. … Burtzel was one of four SJU players in double figures vs. the Gusties Monday. Andy Burns chipped in 22 points — 20 in the game's final 25 minutes — while Nermin Hujdurovic and Chris Schwartz added 14 and 11 points, respectively. … Along with his 32 points, Burtzel also pulled down a team-leading seven rebounds — it was the 19th time in SJU's 23 games that the senior has led the team in rebounding. … Burtzel, who played all 45 minutes of Monday's game vs. GAC, enters Wednesday's game vs. SMU averaging a team-best 14.3 ppg. Sam Blank (11.2 ppg) and Burns (10.7 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Monday's game against Gustavus was the Johnnies' second overtime game of the season. SJU also beat Aurora University 81-75 on Nov. 27 | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics