WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team steps out of conference play on Saturday, as the Cardinals host Crown in a 3 p.m. nonconference game at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-6 Overall)
vs. Crown Storm (3-3 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals gave fourth-ranked St. Thomas all it could handle in the first half of their MIAC game at the SMU Gym Wednesday, but the Tommies' defense turned up the heat in the second half, as UST topped SMU 101-63. … Crown, meanwhile, has been off since Monday, when the Storm picked up a 73-61 nonconference win over Central-Iowa in St. Bonifacius, Minn.

SMU vs. Crown — Their Last Meeting:
November 15, 2010: SMU got its season off and running Monday evening — literally and figuratively. The Cardinals scored the game's first six points, raced out to an 11-point, 37-26 halftime lead and never trailed in handing Crown a 78-57 nonconference setback in the teams' season opener in St. Bonifacius, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals plays its final game before the semester break next Wednesday, heading to Mankato, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. nonconference game against Bethany Lutheran. … Crown, meanwhile, plays its second straight game against an MIAC team next Saturday, traveling to Arden Hills, Minn., for a 3 p.m. nonconference game against Bethel.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saturday's game against Crown is the second straight home game and the first of two straight nonconference game for the Cardinals before the semester break. … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) led the Cardinals in scoring for the second straight game Wednesday, pouring in 24 points against St. Thomas. … Burfeind has now scored in double figures 35 times in his collegiate career — including 10 games of 20 or more points. … Burfeind's 24-point effort vs. the Tommies' is SMU's highest individual output of the season, one more than Evan Pederson's (Onalaska, Wis.) career-high 23-point performance against North Central (Minn.) on Nov. 17. … Burfeind — who has led the team in scoring in each of the three games he has played this season — heads into Saturday's nonconference game vs. Crown owning a team-leading 18.7 ppg scoring average and is just 236 points shy of becoming the 25th Cardinal to reach the 1,000 career point milestone. … Pederson chipped in 11 points and six assists vs. the Tommies Wednesday. … Pederson's six assists were one shy of his career-high. The sophomore leads the team with 25 assists through six games. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) 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 and Schumacher join Burfeind to give SMU a trio of players averaging in double figures. Pederson comes into Saturday's game vs. Crown averaging 12.5 ppg, while Schumacher is scoring at an 11.2 ppg clip. … Swiggum is the team's rebounding leading, hauling in 40 boards (6.7 rpg). … Pederson played in every minute of back-to-back games against North Central (Minn.) and Dominican on Nov. 17 and No. 20, and is averaging 33.0 minutes-per-game. … After averaging 57.8 ppg a year ago, the Cardinals are on a 63.7 ppg clip in their first six games this season. … SMU's six highest offensive outputs over the past two seasons have all come on the road.

Scouting The Crown Storm:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Saturday's game against Saint Mary's is the first of eight straight road games for the Storm, who do not return home until Jan. 18, when they host North Central (Minn.) in a 7:30 p.m. contest. … Saturday's game is also the first of back-to-back games against MIAC foes for the Storm, who face Bethel next Saturday. … Crown enters Saturday's matchup vs. Saint Mary's having won two of its last three. … The Storm's 73-point output in their 73-61 win over Central-Iowa Monday was their third-highest offensive showing of the season. Crown netted 74 points in a 74-65 win over Wartburg on Nov. 17, while tallying a season-high 100 points in a 111-100 loss to Grinnell a day later. … Truman Shelter scored 23 points against Central Monday, while also pulling down eight rebounds, dishing out five assists, and nabbing five steals. … Anthony Di Loreto, meanwhile, posted a double-double of 20 points and 15 rebounds against the Dutch Monday. … Di Loreto has recorded five double-doubles in the team's six games this season, including a 25-point, 25-rebound effort against Grinnell on Nov. 17. … Di Loreto has scored 20 or more points three times this season — including a season-high 29 points against UM-Crookston on Nov. 28 — and heads to Saint Mary's with a 20.5 ppg scoring average, while also averaging 13.5 rpg. … Shelter is also averaging in double figures after six games, scoring at a 15.0 ppg clip. … Taylor Jones has drained 12 of the team's 28 3-pointers, while he and Shelter share the team assist lead with 21, one more than Di Loreto.