Box Score  | Photo Gallery | GameDay Preview

WINONA, Minn. — If the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team was intimidated by St. Thomas' gaudy resume — which includes “defending national champion” and “nationally ranked” — they certainly didn't show it Saturday afternoon.

In fact, for the first 20 minutes, the Cardinals gave the Tommies all they could handle — and more.

Unfortunately, the second half wasn't as memorable for SMU, as St. Thomas outscored the Cardinals 38-24 over the game's final 20 minutes to hand Saint Mary's a 77-59 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at the SMU Gym.

Fueled by the one-two punch of Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), the Cardinals sent the Tommies to the canvas early in the first half, as the duo scored 22 of the team's first 26 points to give the Cardinals an 11-point, 26-15, advantage 12 minutes into the opening half.

The Tommies took a page out of the Cardinals' early game playbook, using a 13-0 run to grab their first lead of the game, 28-26 with 5:19 left on the clock.

Burfeind drained a pair of free throws to tie the game at 32-32, but UST used a half-ending 7-3 burst to take a 39-35 lead into the locker room at the half.

A Burfeind basket three minutes into the second half got SMU within three, 44-41, but the Tommies slowly pulled away, outscoring the Cardinals 20-6 over the next 10 minutes to ice the win.

Burfeind finished with a game-high 25 points, while Freeman chipped in 14 — including three of the team's six 3-pointers. SMU shot 50 percent from the field in the first half (11-for-22), but managed just an 8 of 22 performance from the field over the game's final 20 minutes.

John Nance finished with 22 points to lead the Tommies, who maintained a share of the conference lead, improving to 9-2 in MIAC play.

The Cardinals (3-8 MIAC, 3-13 overall) are back in action on Wednesday, hosting Saint John's in a 7:30 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.