Box Score |
GameDay Preview
MANKATO, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team and coach Todd Landrum could not have asked for a better early Christmas present.
The Cardinals — with
Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) leading the way — picked up their first win of the season in their last game before the semester break, as SMU outlasted Bethany Lutheran 59-55 in a nonconference game.
Burfeind — coming off a 24-point performance against nationally ranked St. Thomas last Wednesday and a 26-point showing against Crown on Saturday — was even better against the Vikings, as the senior poured in a season-high 28 points.
The Burfeind-led Cardinals jumped out to a 12-5 lead eight minutes into the opening half, and pushed that lead to 22-10 with 6:26 on the clock. The Vikings, however, closed the half the way the Cardinals opened it — red-hot — scoring 13 of the final 14 points to pull even 23-23 at the break.
Bethany Lutheran scored the first basket of the second half and held the advantage until the 15-minute mark, when Burfeind drained one of his two 3-pointers to give SMU a two-point, 48-46 lead — and the Cardinals would not trail again.
Bethany Lutheran would pull even with the Cardinals twice over the game's final five minutes — including 52-52 with 2:37 remaining — but SMU used a game-ending 7-3 run that included a basket by
Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) and five free throws to seal the victory.
Burfeind drained 11 of his 21 field goal attempts — including a pair of 3-pointers — en route to his game-high 28 points, while
Brian Thomas (Bellwood, Ill.) added a career-best 11 points and Swiggum chipped in eight points and eight rebounds.
Derek Peterson and Garrett Benson led the way for the Vikings — who were coming off an overtime loss to nationally ranked St. Thomas on Monday — scoring 16 and 11points, respectively.
The Cardinals (1-7 overall) are now off until Jan. 2, when they return to Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play by hosting Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. contest at the SMU Gym.
