WINONA, Minn. — After three straight road games, the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team returns home on Saturday, hosting Bethel in a 3 p.m. MIAC game at the SMU Gym.

The Matchup:
Saint Mary's Cardinals (0-7 MIAC | 1-11 Overall)
vs. Bethel Royals (3-4 MIAC | 7-5 Overall)

GameDay Live On The Web:
Live Stats | Live Video | Video Preview | GameDay Program

Last Action:
The Cardinals rallied from an 11-point halftime deficit to tie their game with Macalester 48-48 with eight minutes left, but the Scots hit 11 of 13 free throws down the stretch to hold off SMU 70-63 Wednesday at Leonard Center in St. Paul, Minn. … Bethel, meanwhile, has been off since Monday, when league-leading and nationally ranked St. Thomas came to Arden Hills, Minn., and handed the Royals a 90-48 conference setback.

SMU vs. Bethel — A Year Ago:
January 11, 2012: Pat Freeman (Brooklyn Park, Minn.) knocked down a pair of clutch 3-pointers — accounting for six of his seven points on the night — in the game's final minutes and Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) scored a game-high 23 points in leading the Cardinals to their second straight win, a 51-49 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Bethel at the SMU Gym.
February 13, 2012: The Cardinals got double-figure scoring from Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn. and Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), but Bethel used some timely runs to hold off the Cardinals, handing SMU a 60-46 MIAC setback at Robertson Center in Arden Hills, Minn.

Up Next:
The Cardinals are right back on the court on Monday, as SMU hosts Saint John's in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym. … Bethel is also back in action on Monday, as the Royals head to St. Paul, Minn., for a 7:30 p.m. MIAC showdown with Hamline.

Scouting The Saint Mary's Cardinals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
After three straight road games, the Cardinals play their next two games on their home court, hosting Bethel on Saturday and Saint John's on Monday. … Wednesday's loss to Macalester snapped the Cardinals' eight-game winning streak against the Scots. … Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) poured in a team-high 18 points against the Scots Wednesday — with all 18 coming in the second half when he was 7-for-8 from the field and 4 of 5 from the free throw line. … Burfeind has now led the team in scoring in eight straight games, and nine times this season. … With his 18 points vs. Macalester, Burfeind moved to within 114 points of becoming the 25th Cardinal to reach the 1,000 career-point milestone. … Burfeind notched his fifth game of 20 or more points with a 22-point effort against Concordia last Monday. It was the 13th time in his collegiate career Burfeind has eclipsed the 20-point barrier. … Burfeind enters Saturday's game against Bethel having scored in double figures in all nine games he's played this season. He's also scored 10 or more points in 31 of his last 34 games and 40 times in his four-year collegiate career. … Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) and Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) also scored in double figures vs. the Scots, finishing with 15 and 13 points, respectively. … Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) recorded his second-straight nine-rebound performance vs. the Scots Wednesday. The freshman has now led the team in rebounding in seven of its 12 games. … Along with his 15 points, Pederson dished out a team-leading six assists vs. Macalester Wednesday. … Pederson, who recorded 80 assists a year ago — the most since Brensley Haywood dished out 81 assists during the 2006-2007 season — has recorded a career-best nine assists twice this season and enters Saturday's game against Bethel boasting a team-best 59 assists through 12 games. … Burfeind heads into Saturday's conference game against Bethel owning a 19.8 ppg scoring average — first on the team and second in the MIAC. … Pederson and Mark Schumacher (Perham, Minn.) are also averaging in double figures heading into Saturday's showdown with Bethel, netting 11.3 ppg and 11.0 ppg, respectively. … Swiggum and Schumacher have each notched 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. … Pederson logged 40 minutes against Macalester Wednesday, marking the fourth time this season the sophomore guard has played every minute of a game. … After averaging 57.8 ppg a year ago, the Cardinals are on a 63.4 ppg clip in their first 12 games this season. … The Cardinals' 72-point effort against Concordia Monday was their second-highest offensive output of the season. SMU netted a season-best 78 points against North Central on Nov. 17. … The Cardinals' 69-point effort against Crown on Dec. 8 was the most points scored on their home court since SMU netted 76 points in a 76-63 win over Macalester on Jan. 29, 2011.

Scouting The Bethel Royals:
2012-13 Roster | 2012-13 Statistics | 2012-13 Schedule
Bethel's 90-48 loss to St. Thomas Monday snapped the Royals' season-high five-game winning streak. … The Tommies' 90 points Monday were the most allowed by the Royals, while the 48 points scored were the fewest by Bethel this season. … Bethel scored 80 or more points in four of their five games during their five-game winning streak. … The Royals, who are averaging 72.2 ppg as a team, have eclipsed the 80-point barrier five times, including three games of 90 points or more. Bethel netted a season-best 93 points twice, beating Martin Luther 93-80 on Dec. 8 and  Crown 93-68 on Dec. 14. … Bethel hit just of 2 of 21 3-point attempts vs. the Tommies Monday. … Joseph Gill was the only Royal to score in double figures vs. the league-leading Tommies Monday, coming off the bench to score a team-best 12 points. … Taylor Hall enters Saturday's game against Saint Mary's averaging a team- and conference-best 22.0 ppg. … Hall also leads the team in rebounds, hauling in 123 boards for a 10.3 rpg average. … Hall has led the Royals in scoring in nine of their 12 games this season. … Hall has scored 30 or more points four times this season, including a season-best 35 points twice, and owns five double-doubles. … Kyle Zimmerman also enters Saturday's game at Saint Mary's averaging in double figures, scoring at a 13.2 ppg clip. … Bethel has drained 77 3-pointers this season, led by JD Robinson with 22, Bjorn Westlund with 15 and Jared Nelson with 14. … Bethel has scored 433 points in each half in outscoring its opponents 866-844. … Four of the Royals' seven wins have come on their home court, where Bethel owns a 4-3 mark.