ST. PETER Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team closes out its regular season on Saturday, traveling to Gustavus for a 3 p.m. conference game against the playoff-bound Gusties.





The Teams:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (4-15 MIAC / 9-15 Overall)
Gustavus Gusties (10-9 MIAC / 12-12 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals raced out to a seven-point, 38-31 halftime lead, but couldn't hold off hard-charging Saint John's over the final 20 minutes falling to the Johnnies 74-67 Wednesday at the SMU Gym. … Gustavus, meanwhile, could not hold an eight-point halftime lead in falling to Augsburg 68-61 in Minneapolis, Minn., Wednesday.

Earlier This Year:
January 22, 2011: SMU battled all game with visiting Gustavus, but each time the Cardinals threatened, the Gusties would answer, as GAC held off SMU 67-59 in an MIAC game at the SMU Gym.

A Year Ago:
December 7, 2009: Trailing by 23, 47-24, at the break, SMU erupted for 53 second-half points, and had a chance at a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the game, but Lukas Holland's (La Crosse, Wis.) trey went in-and-out, allowing Gustavus to hang on for an 80-77 MIAC victory in St. Peter, Minn.

January 27, 2010: The Cardinals snapped a 17-year drought against the high-powered Gusties, as SMU got double-figure scoring from five different players en route to a 78-75 conference win at the SMU Gym.

Up Next:
Today's game is the season finale for the Cardinals — and the collegiate finale 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.). … Gustavus, meanwhile, also closes out its regular-season today. The Gusties have already locked up an MIAC playoff berth and will be either the No. 5 or No. 6 seed when post-season play begins on Tuesday.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) scored a team-high 16 points in Wednesday's home loss to Saint John's. Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) also scored in double figures, finishing with 13 points and 10 points, respectively. … Palmer hauled a team-leading 10 rebounds vs. SJU, giving the Cardinal sophomore his 11th double-double of the season and 20th of his collegiate career. … Palmer enters today's finale at Gustavus as the team's leader in scoring average (399 points, 17.3 ppg), rebounding (219, 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 averaged are both No. 2 among MIAC players. … Palmer has gone 29-for-32 from the line in his six 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. … With his 13 points vs. SJU on Wednesday, Wright has now scored in double figures in 12 straight games, 22 times this season and 88 times in his 99-game collegiate career. … Wright has eclipsed the 20-point barrier 34 times in his career. … Wright enters today's game at Gustavus sitting fifth all-time with 1,752 career points. He is 10 points behind No. 4 Pat Costello. … Holland, meanwhile, pushed his career point total to 1,346 with his 16 points vs. Saint John's. The senior guard is currently eighth on SMU's all-time scoring list. … The Cardinals enter today's game at Gustavus with three players averaging in double figures — Palmer (17.7 ppg), Wright (16.6 ppg) and Holland (11.1 ppg). … Wright (35.8 mpg) and Holland (34.5 mpg) rank No.1 and No. 2 in the MIAC in minutes played, while Wright also ranks 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 (376-for-472, .797). … The Cardinals boast four players with 20 or more 3-pointers, led by Wright with 28 and Holland with 27. … 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

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
Wednesday's 68-61 loss at Augsburg extended the Gusties' losing streak to a season-high six straight. … Four of GAC's last 10 losses have come in overtime — including Monday's 96-88 loss to Saint John's. … Dan Schmidtknecht scored a team-high 16 points to lead three players in double figures against the Auggies Wednesday. Seth Anderson (14 points) and Phil Wirtjes (13 points) were the other two. … Paul Blacklock hauled in 10 boards vs. the Auggies Wednesday. Blacklock has now led the team in rebounding in each of its last three games and four times in the Gusties' last five contests. … GAC enters today's regular-season final against Saint Mary's with three players averaging in double figures — Wirtjes (12.8 ppg), Seth Anderson (12.1 ppg) and James Hill (11.0 ppg). … Wirtjes has drained a team-high 35 3-pointers and his knocking down treys at a 42 percent clip (35-for-84). … Gustavus has outscored its opponents 850-776 in the first half, but have been outscored 927-894 after halftime — including 55-33 in overtime. … Wednesday's loss at Augsburg was GAC's eighth road loss of the season. Gustavus is 6-4 on its home court and 6-8 away from Gus Young Court | 2010-2011 Overall Statistics