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Saint Mary's University of Minnesota Athletics

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF SAINT MARY'S UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA CARDINAL ATHLETICS

Men's Basketball

Balanced attack leads SMU past St. Olaf

Donny Nadeau, SMU Sports Information Director |
dnadeau@smumn.edu

Will Swiggum
13 points, 13 rebounds for 2nd double-double
Box Score  | GameDay Preview

NORTHFIELD, Minn. — Michael Burfeind (Lewiston, Minn.) has been the Saint Mary's University men's basketball team's leading scorer in each of the 11 games he's played this season.

Make that in each of the 12 games he's played.

Burfeind tossed in a team-best 17 points in the Cardinals' 66-57 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win over St. Olaf Wednesday — but the senior forward certainly didn't do it alone.

The Cardinals got double-figure scoring from four different players, and it was that balanced attack — and a 23-for-29 performance from the free throw line — that fueled SMU to its second conference win in the last three games.

Along with Burfeind's 15 points, Evan Pederson (Onalaska, Wis.) and Will Swiggum (St. Charles, Minn.) each finished with 13 points and Tom Gores (Rochester, Minn.) chipped in 11.

Swiggum also hauled in a team-best 13 rebounds en route to his second collegiate double-double — with both coming against St. Olaf. The freshman posted a 10 points and 11 boards against the Oles in their first meeting on Nov. 28. Pederson, who played all 40 minutes, also dished out a team-leading six assists.

After falling behind 4-2 early, SMU took control, as the Cardinals — with Burfeind at the controls — built their lead to as many as eight, 19-11, survived a 9-5 St. Olaf run that cut the gap to one, 29-28, before scoring the final five points of the half — thanks in part to a buzzer-beating three by Gores — to give Saint Mary's a 34-28 advantage at the break.

The Oles cut the gap to two twice early in the second half, but it was all SMU after that, as the Cardinals pushed their lead to a game-high 13, 56-43, with 4:26 remaining in regulation and never looked back in avenging an 80-62 loss to St. Olaf in the team's first meeting on Nov. 28.

Burfeind scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half, while Swiggum tallied 10 of his 14 over the game's second 20 minutes. SMU shot 40 percent from the field (19-for-48), but iced the victory by draining 23 of 29 free throws — including 15 of 19 in the second half.

Connor Gunderson scored 13 points and Nathan Kuck added 10 for the Oles, who were 24-for-61 from the field (39 percent), and went to the free throw line just five games, going 2-for-5.

The Cardinals (2-8 MIAC, 3-12 overall) are back in action on Saturday, as SMU travels to Minneapolis, Minn., for a 3 p.m. conference matchup against Augsburg.
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