WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team is back on the court on Wednesday, hosting Bethel in a 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (1-5 MIAC | 1-10 Overall)
vs. Bethel Royals (2-4 MIAC | 6-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals picked up their first win of the season on Saturday, getting 23 points from Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) en route to a 62-47 MIAC win over Macalester in St. Paul, Minn. … Bethel, meanwhile, were no match for St. Olaf, as the Oles left Arden Hills, Minn., with a 69-57 win over the Royals.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
December 6, 2010: Chris Palmer enjoyed his best night as a Cardinal, as he went for a career-high 37 points to go along with 11 rebounds, as the Cardinals topped Bethel 79-64 in an MIAC matchup at the SMU Gym.
January 26, 2011: SMU dropped a heartbreaker in its second meeting with the Royals, as Bethel's Daniel Baah drained a 3-pointer in the game's final seconds to lift the BU to a 66-63 conference win over SMU in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals play their second straight home game on Saturday, hosting Augsburg in a 3 p.m. conference matchup at the SMU Gym. … Bethel, meanwhile, is also playing on its home court on Saturday, hosting Hamline in a 3 p.m. MIAC game in Arden Hills, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
After playing nine of their first 11 games on the road, Wednesday's game against Bethel is the first of back-to-back home games for the Cardinals, who play five of their next six games on their home court. … The Cardinals' 62-47 win over Macalester Saturday snapped their season-opening 10-game losing streak. … With their win over Macalester, the Cardinals improved to 7-0 vs. the Scots under coach Todd Landrum. … In SMU's last three games, the winning team has scored 62 points. … Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) equaled his career high with a 23-point effort to lead the way for the Cardinals against Macalester Saturday. The Cardinal senior also netted 23 points against Concordia on Dec. 7. … After scoring in double figures just 11 times in his first three seasons with the Cardinals, Freeman has already netted 10 or more points six times in SMU's 11 games this season. … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) chipped in 14 points against the Scots Saturday, while Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) added 12. … The 12-point effort was a career-high for Gores, who has now scored in double figures in back-to-back games. … Burfeind has now scored in double figures in 10 of the Cardinals' 11 games — including five games of 20 or more points. … Burfeind scored a career-high 38 points against Concordia on Dec. 7. It was the first 30-point effort of Burfeind's career and was the most scored by a Cardinal since Will Wright tossed in 41 against MacMurray (Ill.) on Nov. 22, 2008. … With their 38- and 23-point efforts against Concordia on Dec. 7, Burfeind and Freeman marked the first time SMU has had two players score 20 or more points in the same game this season. … Burfeind, who recorded his first collegiate double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds against Saint John's on Dec. 5, enters Wednesday's game vs. Bethel as the team leader in scoring (19.8 ppg) and rebounding (5.7 rpg). … Burfend's 19.4 ppg average ranks him second in the MIAC in scoring. … Freeman is also averaging in double figures at 11.9 ppg, while Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), who scored a career-best 15 points against Saint John's on Dec. 5, is the team-leader in assists (44 / 4.4 apg) and is third in scoring (7.5 ppg). … The Cardinals, who closed out the 2010-2011 season as the top free-throw shooting team in all of NCAA Division III — shooting a school-record .794 from the line (394-for-496) — are 184-for-237 (78 percent) from the line this season.  … The Cardinals set season-highs for field goals (26), field goal attempts (60), 3-pointers (6), 3-point attempts (18), and rebounds (41) against Concordia on Dec. 7. … SMU went to the free throw line a season-high 32 times against UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 25, converting on 28 of their 32 attempts. … SMU dished out a season-high 15 assists against St. Olaf on Dec. 3. … The Cardinals committed just three turnovers vs. UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 25, the fewest since recording three turnovers against Augsburg on Feb. 10, 2007.

Bethel Royals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's is just the second road game in the last six contests for the Royals, who are 3-3 at home and 3-2 on the road this season. … Bethel's 69-57 loss to St. Olaf Saturday was the Royals' second straight setback. The Royals are just 2-4 in their last six games. … JD Robinson scored 10 points to lead the way for the Royals against St. Olaf Saturday. … Robinson became the eighth different player to lead Bethel in scoring this season. … Bethel has scored 60 of more points in all six of their wins this season — including 90 or more points twice. The Royals netted a season-high 93 points in a 93-38 drubbing of Martin Luther on Dec. 10, while scoring 90 in a season-opening 90-66 triumph over Crown on Nov. 15. … Taylor Hall leads a trio of Royals averaging in double figures at 13.3 ppg. Daniel Baah and Kyle Zimmerman are the other two, averaging 12.6 and 12.3 ppg, respectively. All three are questionable for Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's due to injuries. … The Royals have outscored their opponents 373-305 in the first half, but Bethel has been outscored 387-365 after halftime.