Box Score Game Summary / GameDay Preview

ST. PETER, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team matched Gustavus basket-for-basket in the second half of Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.

Problem was, the Gusties made the most of a sizzling start, racing out to a 43-33 halftime lead — an advantage Gustavus would not relinquish in beating the Cardinals 89-78.

Will Wright (Chicago, Ill.) and Chris Palmer (Faribault, Minn.) each scored 20 points for the Cardinals, while Lukas Holland (La Crosse, Wis.) chipped in 16 points.

Seth Anderson netted a game-high 26 points to lead five Gusties in double figures. Phil Wirtjes chipped in 13 points, while Dan Schmidtknecht added 12, and Tyler Grey and Adam Michel each tallied 10.

The Cardinals raced out to a quick 5-0 lead on a basket by Palmer and a three-point play from Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.). SMU pushed that lead to seven three times — the last time 13-6 on another bucket by Burfeind — before the Gusties caught fire, using a 16-2 run to take a 22-15 lead with 12:58 remaining in the half.

GAC would push its lead to as many as 11, before settling for a 43-33 halftime advantage.

After shooting 44 percent (13-for-29) from the field in the first half, the Cardinals drained 15 of 27 second-half field goals and went 12-for-13 from the free throw line. SMU cut into the Gusties' lead, whittling it down to four on three separate occasions, but GAC scored 18 of the game's final 29 points to seal the win.

The Cardinals close out their season 9-16 overall, 4-16 in conference play.