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WINONA, Minn. — Saint Mary's University men's basketball coach Todd Landrum wasn't about to say his Cardinals were out for revenge when they squared off against Carleton for the second time Wednesday evening.

The Cardinals, however, may have had other ideas — and revenge proved to be oh so sweet.

The Cardinals, who scored just 13 first-half points in falling to the Knights 93-48 in the team's conference opener on Nov. 30, made the most of their second time around, getting a game-high 28 points from Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and some stellar defense down the stretch in beating Carleton 64-60 at the SMU Gym.

“We showed some stuff tonight,” said Landrum, whose team has now won three of its last five games. “I'm really happy for the guys — they played their hearts out tonight and were rewarded for that effort.”

With Burfeind leading the way, the Cardinals led by as many as six in the first half, before settling for a four-point, 33-29 advantage at the break.

Burfeind proved to be a one-man wrecking crew through the game's first 20 minutes, as the junior had 13 points through the game's first 11 minutes — going 5-for-5 from the field with a 3-pointer, and adding a pair of free throws — before finishing the opening half with 16 points.

And it was more of the same in the second half, as Burfeind added 12 more points in recording his seventh 20-plus point performance of the season.

In the second half, however, the Michael Burfeind Show had some stellar cameo appearances from Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) and Josh Bennett (North St. Paul, Minn.).

Pederson and Bennett really began making their presence felt with six minutes remaining in regulation, as the duo knocked down a pair of baskets — Pederson's a jumper with a Carleton player in his face, and Bennett's a 3-point bomb that pulled SMU even, 55-55 with five minutes on the clock.

After a basket by Tom Sawatzke gave the Knights a 57-55 lead, Pederson and Bennett were at it again, draining back-to-back-to-back field goals to give SMU the lead for good, 61-57.

Carleton got to within two, 62-60, but a layup by Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) in the waning seconds iced the win for the Cardinals.

“We took a (Carleton) punch midway through the second half, and bounced right back,” said Landrum of the Cardinals' late rally. “It was good to see Michael put together a game like he did, but this was a total team effort — everyone contributed in one way or another.”

Along with Burfeind's game-high 28 points, SMU also got 11 points from Gores, while Sawatzke led a trio of Carleton players in double figures with 22 points.

The Cardinals (3-7 MIAC, 3-12 overall) are back in action on Saturday, when they host league-leading St. Thomas in a 3 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.