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WINONA, Minn. — Saturday's Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game between the Saint Mary's University and Bethel men's basketball teams boasted a showdown between the conference's top two scorers — Taylor Hall of Bethel and
Michael Burfeind (Lewiston) of SMU.
It proved to be no contest, as Burfeind tossed in a game-high 26 points, while the SMU defense made Hall a non-factor, holding the high-scoring forward to just nine points — 13 points below his league-leading average
And while Burfeind was winning the scoring battle, the Cardinals were also winning the war, as SMU rallied from a game-opening 14-point defect to beat the Royals 75-72 at the SMU Gym.
The Royals got out of the gates quickly, scoring the game's first 14 points — knocking down 7 of their first 8 field goals — but the Cardinals were unfazed, using a 19-6 run to cut the gap to one, 20-19, with 7:35 remaining.
Bethel put together another quick burst to grab a 37-30 advantage, but SMU answered, knotting the game 37-37, only to have Kyle Zimmerman hit a layup at the buzzer to give the Royals a 39-37 lead at the break.
Fueled by Burfeind and sophomore
Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.), the Cardinals opened the second half in much better fashion than the first. Pederson drained a half-opening 3-pointer to give SMU its first lead of the game, 40-39, and SMU built its lead to as many as 13, 61-48, on a Burfeind 3-pointer.
The Royals would not go away, however, as BU made it a one-point game with 21 seconds remaining in regulation, but four straight Burfeind free throws — giving the senior a perfect 10-for-10 afternoon from the free throw line — sealed the Cardinals' first conference victory.
Along with Burfeind's game-high 26-point effort, Pederson chipped in 15 points and
Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) added 12 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.
Zimmerman netted 21 points to lead three Royals in double figures, with J.D. Robinson adding 17 and Jared Nelson 10.
The Cardinals are right back in action on Monday, as SMU hosts Saint John's in a 7:30 p.m. conference game at the SMU Gym.
