ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team closes out its 2011-2012 season on Saturday, as the Cardinals travel to St. Thomas for a 3 p.m. contest against the Tommies



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-14 MIAC | 5-19 Overall)
at St. Thomas Tommies (15-4 MIAC | 18-6 Overall)

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Last Action:
The Cardinals boasted three players in double figures, but Hamline took advantage of 13 second-half SMU turnovers in handing Saint Mary's a 72-51 MIAC setback Wednesday at the SMU Gym. … St. Thomas, meanwhile, kept its regular-season conference title hopes alive with a 69-55 win over Bethel Wednesday in Arden Hills, Minn.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — Earlier This Year:
January 21, 2012: St. Thomas outscored the Cardinals 38-24 over the game's final 20 minutes to hand Saint Mary's a 77-59 MIAC setback at the SMU Gym.

SMU vs. St. Thomas — A Year Ago:
January 3, 2011: St. Thomas deployed a high-pressure, full-court press and used a 20-0 run out of the halftime break to run away with a 90-58 MIAC victory over the Cardinals at Schoenecker Arena in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex. The loss snapped SMU's six-game winning streak.
February 2, 2011: Cardinals gave seventh-ranked St Thomas all they could handle, but fell just short, falling to the Tommies 75-66 at SMU Gym.

Up Next:
Saturday's game is the season finale for the Cardinals, while St. Thomas — still in the hunt for the MIAC regular-season championship — has locked up an MIAC playoff spot and will have to wait until Saturday's games are complete to see when and where they kick off post-season play.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Saturday's game against St. Thomas is the final collegiate game for SMU seniors Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.), Tim Kunkel (Northfield, Ill.) and Rod Goolsby (Chicago, Ill.). … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a team-high 12 points in Wednesday's 72-51 loss to Hamline, while Freeman and Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) each chipped in 11 points. … Wednesday's 12-point effort marked the 22nd time in SMU's 24 games that Burfeind has scored in double figures. … Burfeind, who had his streak of 19 straight games scoring in double figures snapped against Augsburg last Saturday, has led the team in scoring 18 times this season — and owns the Cardinals' top five individual offensive outputs this season. … Burfeind  has scored 20 or more points nine times this season. … Burfeind's career-high 38 points against Concordia on Dec. 7 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. … Burfeind, who recorded his first collegiate double-double with 26 points and 12 rebounds in SMU's first meeting against Saint John's on Dec. 5, enters Saturday's game against St. Thomas as the team leader in scoring (18.5 ppg). He also boasts a team-best .832 free throw percentage, going 114-for-137. … Burfeind's 18.5 ppg average ranks him second in the MIAC in scoring. … Freeman is also averaging in double figures, heading into his collegiate finale with an 11.5 ppg scoring average. … After scoring in double figures just 11 times in his first three seasons, Freeman has scored 10 or more points 14 times this season. … Tim Kunkel (Northfield, Ill.) pulled down a career-high nine rebounds against Bethel last Monday, while LaMonte Hall (Minneapolis, Minn.) hauled in a career-best seven boards to lead SMU vs. Hamline Wednesday. … Pederson is the team's assist leader with 80, and ranks third on the squad in scoring, averaging 8.3 ppg. … The Cardinals enter Saturday's finale at St. Thomas averaging 58.5 ppg. They scored a season-high 79 points in a 91-79 loss at UW-Oshkosh on Nov. 25, 2011. … SMU's top four offensive outputs have come on the road. … With their 54-41 win over Macalester on Feb. 4, the Cardinals improved to 8-0 vs. the Scots under coach Todd Landrum. … SMU's 64-60 win over Carleton on Jan. 18 put an end to a pair of streak for the Cardinals, who snapped their two-game losing streak, while also ending a 23-game losing streak against the Knights. SMU had not beaten Carleton since a 69-55 win in Northfield on Jan. 29, 2000.

St. Thomas Tommies News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
The Tommies enter Saturday's regular-season finale against Saint Mary's having won four in a row and five of their last six. … The Tommies, who have secured a top-two playoff seed and first-round playoff bye, are still in the hunt for their seventh consecutive regular-season conference title. If UST can beat Saint Mary's and if Gustavus loses at home to playoff-hopeful Bethel, St. Thomas would share the conference crown. … St. Thomas is in the MIAC playoffs for the 24th time in the last 25 seasons and has secured a top-two conference finish for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons. … Tommy Hannon is the lone returning starter from last year's NCAA championship team. He has not played since December due to a serious knee injury and was leading the team at 16.7 points and 7.0 rebounds a game. … Will DeBerg scored a game-high 19 points against Bethel Wednesday, while Erik Tengwall chipped in 13. … Tengwall's 13-point effort was a career-best. … John Nance enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's leading the Tommies in scoring at 12.5 ppg. … The Tommies, who are averaging 74.9 ppg, have scored 80 or more points seven times this season — including a season-high 94 in wins over Concordia-St. Paul (94-88) and Hamline (94-77). … The Tommies rank among the NCAA Division III leaders in field-goal percentage (.495), 3-point FG percentage (.385) and fewest turnovers (11 per game). … St. Thomas, which has lost back-to-back games just once this season — falling to UW-Stevens Point (72-66) and Saint John's (68-66) — owns two five-game winning streaks, as well as its current four-game win streak. … The Tommies are 7-2 on their home court, while going 11-4 away from Schoenecker Arena.