WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University men's basketball team is back in action on Wednesday, hosting Gustavus in a 7:30 p.m. conference contest at the SMU Gym.



The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (5-10 MIAC | 5-15 Overall)
vs. Gustavus Gusties (12-3 MIAC | 15-5 Overall)

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Last Action:
Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) combined for 37 of SMU's 54 points as the Cardinals cruised to a 54-41 win over Macalester at the SMU Gym Saturday. … Gustavus, meanwhile, have been off since last Wednesday, when the Gusties nearly gave the game away in the final minutes, before holding on for a 64-63 conference win over St. Olaf at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — Earlier This Year:
January 4, 2012: SMU got 15 points from Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) and 10 from Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.), but Gustavus used an 11-2 run to open the second half to pull away from the Cardinals in handing SMU a 62-45 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference setback at Gus Young Court in St. Peter, Minn.

SMU vs. Gustavus — A Year Ago:
January 22, 2011: SMU battled all game with visiting Gustavus, but each time the Cardinals threatened, the Gusties would answer, as GAC held off SMU 67-59 in an MIAC game at the SMU Gym.
February 19, 2011: Will Wright and Chris Palmer each scored 20 points for the Cardinals, while Lukas Holland chipped in 16, but the Gusties made the most of a sizzling start, racing out to a 43-33 halftime lead — an advantage Gustavus would not relinquish in beating the Cardinals 89-78 in St. Peter, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals hit the road on Saturday, traveling to Augsburg for a 3 p.m. conference game against the Auggies in Minneapolis, Minn. … Gustavus, meanwhile, returns to Gus Young Court on Saturday, hosting Macalester in a 3 p.m. MIAC game in St. Peter, Minn.

Saint Mary's Cardinals News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Wednesday's game against Gustavus is the third straight home game for the Cardinals. … With their 54-41 win over Macalester Saturday, the Cardinals improved to 8-0 vs. the Scots under coach Todd Landrum. … For the fifth game in a row, Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) and Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored in double figures Saturday against Macalester. … Freeman, who equaled his career high with 23 points in the team's first meeting against Macalester on Jan. 7, poured in a game-high 19 points against the Scots on Saturday. … Freeman netted 10 of his 19 points vs. the Scots in the second half. In his last two games, Freeman has scored 23 of his 33 points after halftime. … Burfeind — who owns the top five individual offensive outputs this season — has now scored in double figures in 19 of the Cardinals' 20 games. … Burfeind's 22-point effort against Concordia on Jan. 30 marked the ninth time this season the SMU junior has scored 20 or more points. …  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 Wednesday's game vs. Gustavus as the team leader in scoring (19.7 ppg). He also boasts a team-best .832 free throw percentage, going 109-for-131. … Burfeind's 19.7 ppg average ranks him second in the MIAC in scoring. … With his 19-point effort against Macalester Saturday, Freeman has now scored in double figures 12 times this season. … Freeman recorded a career-high nine rebounds against Hamline on Jan. 16 and is currently one rebound shy of 100 for the season. …  Freeman also enters Wednesday's game vs. Gustavus averaging in double figures at 11.6 ppg. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) is the team's assist leader with 67 and ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 8.2 ppg. … The Cardinals enter Wednesday's game against Gustavus averaging 60.3 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. … 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.

Gustavus Gusties News and Notes:
2011-12 Roster | 2011-12 Statistics | 2011-12 Schedule
Last Wednesday's 64-63 win over St. Olaf was the fourth straight win for the  Gusties. … The Gusties have now won eight of their last nine games, sandwiching a pair of four-game winning streaks around a 75-71 loss to Bethel. … GAC's last three wins have all come against top-three teams in the MIAC standings — St. Thomas (W, 82-77), Augsburg (W, 73-63) and St. Olaf (W, 64-63). … The Gusties have not lost two games in a row all season. … Gustavus enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's sitting atop the MIAC standings, one-half game in front of St. Thomas (12-4) and two games up on St. Olaf with five games to play. … Ben Biewen scored 18 points to lead a trio of Gusties in double figures against St. Olaf last Wednesday. Seth Anderson chipped in 17 points and Paul Blacklock added 10 for GAC. … Biewen became the fourth different Gustie to lead the team in scoring in GAC's last four games. … Blacklock, meanwhile, pulled down a team-best seven rebounds vs. St. Olaf — marking the third straight game the senior has hauled in a team-high seven boards. … Anderson enters Wednesday's game at Saint Mary's boasting a team- and conference-best 23.9 ppg scoring average. … Anderson also leads the team in field goals made (186) and free throws made (102). … Blacklock is the team's rebounding leader with 113 (5.7 rpg). … GAC, which is averaging 71.8 as a team, has scored 80 or more points five times this season — including a season-high 105-point effort against Hamline on Jan. 18.