MANKATO, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule on Wednesday, as the Cardinals travel to Bethany Lutheran for a 7:30 p.m. game against the Vikings.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-7 Overall)
At Bethany Lutheran Vikings (2-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals got 26 points from Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and 16 points and nine assists from Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), but it was not enough, as SMU dropped a heartbreaker, falling to Crown 72-69 Saturday at the SMU Gym. … Bethany Lutheran, meanwhile, gave fifth-ranked St. Thomas all it could handle Monday, as the Tommies Will DeBerg drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime and the Tommies outscored the Vikings 18-15 in the extra session to escape with a 94-91 win in Mankato, Minn.

SMU vs. Bethany Lutheran — Their Last Meeting:
November 18, 2005: The Cardinals struggled from the field in the first half of their season-opening against Bethany Lutheran, making just 7 of 29 attempts from the field in falling behind by 20, 42-22, at the break. Over the final 20 minutes, however, the Cardinals were very good, knocking down shots at a 58 percent clip (18 of 31) en route to a 52-point second half performance. Unfortunately, the Cardinals' stellar second-half effort wasn't quite enough, as SMU's first-half hole proved to be a little too deep to dig out of as they dropped their season-opener, 80-74 in Mankato, Minn.

Up Next:
Wednesday's game at Bethany Lutheran is the final game of the first semester for the Cardinals, who do not return to the court until Jan. 2, when SMU hosts Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game at the SMU Gym. … Bethany Lutheran, meanwhile, is right back in action on Friday, traveling to Northfield, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game against Carleton.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Bethany Lutheran is the final nonconference game of the season for the Cardinals, who have already played Northwestern (Minn.), North Central (Minn.), Dominican and Crown in non-league play. … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) poured in a season-high 26 points against Crown Saturday. It was the second straight game Burfeind eclipsed the 20-point barrier, having netted 24 points against nationally ranked St. Thomas last Wednesday. … Burfeind, who has led the Cardinals in scoring in each of the last three games — and in all four games he's played this year — has now scored in double figures 36 times in his collegiate career. … Burfeind's 26-point effort vs. the Storm Saturday was his 11th game of 20 or more points. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) chipped in 16 points and a career-high nine assists against Crown Saturday. … Pederson netted a career-high 23-point performance against North Central (Minn.) on Nov. 17. … Burfeind heads into Wednesday's nonconference game at Bethany Lutheran owning a team-leading 20.5 ppg scoring average and is just 210 points shy of becoming the 25th Cardinal to reach the 1,000 career point milestone. … Pederson and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) join Burfeind to give SMU a trio of players averaging in double figures. Pederson comes into Wednesday's game at Bethany Lutheran averaging 13.0 ppg, while Schumacher is scoring at an 11.2 ppg clip. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) is the team's rebounding leader, hauling in 45 boards (6.4 rpg). … Fueled by his career-high nine assists Saturday, Pederson pushed his team-leading assist total to 34. … Swiggum and Schumacher have each recorded their first collegiate double-double this season. Swiggum recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds against St. Olaf on Nov. 30, while Schumacher posted a 12-point, 11-rebound effort against North Central (Minn.) on Nov. 17. … Schumacher scored a career-high 19 points against St. Olaf on Nov. 30, knocking down 8 of 11 field goals — including a 3-for-3 effort from the 3-point line. …  Pederson who has played every minute in three of the Cardinals' seven games this season, is averaging 34.0 minutes-per-game. … After averaging 57.8 ppg a year ago, the Cardinals are on a 64.4 ppg clip in their first six games this season. … SMU's 69-point effort against Crown was the second-highest offensive output of the season for the Cardinals. It was also the most points scored on their home court since the Cardinals scored 76 points in a 76-63 win over Macalester on Jan. 29, 2011.

Scouting The Bethany Lutheran Vikings:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the second of three straight nonconference games against Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic foes for the Vikings, who fell to fifth-ranked St. Thomas 94-91 in overtime on Monday and travel to Carleton on Friday. … The Cardinals are also the fourth of five MIAC opponents for the Vikings, who also lost to St. Olaf (74-66) and Gustavus (83-63) earlier this year. … Wednesday's game against Saint Mary's is the third of four games in a six-day stretch for the Vikings. … Monday's loss to St. Thomas was the fourth straight setback for the Vikings, who have not won since beating Wisconsin Lutheran 68-63 on Nov. 24. … Bethany Lutheran had four players score in double figures against fifth-ranked St. Thomas Monday, led by Alex Weldon, who netted 24 points on 9 of 13 shooting from the field — including 4-for-8 from behind the 3-point line. … Deon Wright and Gavin Kroehler each chipped in 14 points vs. UST, while Derek Peterson finished with 13. … Kroehler enters Wednesday's game vs. Saint Mary's boasting a team-best 12.6 ppg scoring average, while Weldon (11.0 ppg) and Peterson (10.9 ppg) are also averaging in double figures. … Peterson leads the team with 48 rebounds (6.0 rpg) and Jeremiah Fogarty owns a team-leading 23 assists. … Monday's 91 points against St. Thomas were a season high for the Vikings, who also surrendered a season-high 94 points to the Tommies. … Monday's loss to UST marked the fifth game this season decided by eight points or less — including back-to-back losses by two points (vs. Central-Iowa on Saturday) and three points (vs. St. Thomas on Monday).